eCOA vs. Paper: What To Use in a Clinical Trial?

 


It was 2009 when the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published recommendations for the industry to move to electronic data capture methods. Over 14 years later, the adoption of EDC has still been slow in the clinical research industry as some sponsors continue to weigh the benefits of modernized clinical trials against conventional methods.

One debate that often arises in the sector is the use of paper-based clinical outcome forms and eCOA. With the former becoming less common every day, the former has yet to fully revolutionize the clinical trial sector with its plethora of benefits.

If you’re a clinical researcher, sponsor, or investigator contemplating between using eCOA and paper, then here’s a comparison for you.

What is eCOA?

Clinical Outcome Assessment (COA) is the reflection of a patient’s experience with a drug, chronic illness, or treatment/intervention. Clinical researchers use COA for data management in clinical trials on, the basis of which the results of the study are derived.

In recent years, electronic clinical outcome assessment (eCOA) has become common among modernized clinical trials, such as decentralized clinical trials. This means that researchers are now digitizing their data collection and management instead of using paper and pen to fill out questionnaires.



Benefits of eCOA vs. Paper

Below are the benefits of eCOA that paper-based data forms fail to offer and thus have the need to be completely eliminated in modern healthcare.

Cost-Effective Method

eCOA forms uploaded on a clinical trial data management solution is a cost-effective method for data capture. eCOAallows sponsors to cut overhead, stationery, and data storage costs, as well as those involved in the logistics of a clinical trial.

Increased Data Integrity

Because eCOA is digitally stored on EDC software, these forms improve the data integrity and quality. This is because, unlike paper, these forms are prompt to identify data entry errors and allow the collection of cleaner and non-conflicting data.

Improved Data Privacy and Compliance

According to a study, eCOA offers 94 percent higher compliance compared to paper-based data entry. In addition, digitally storing clinical trial data also allows sponsors to improve the participants’ data privacy, thus avoiding regulatory issues.

Choose Clinical Pursuit for eCOA and More!

An eCOA helps implement cost-efficient, error-free, faster data management solutions. If you seek to develop eCOA forms or leverage electronic consent for your participants, then connect with Clinical Pursuit.

Book a demo of the clinical data management software here to learn more about the advanced EDC system for a clinical trial.



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