Exco InTouch launches Gather and redefines the use of mobile technology within clinical trials

By Usha Sharma On Jan 25, 2016

Exco InTouch provider of patient engagement and data capture solutions for clinical research and healthcare providers, has announced the launch of Gather.

Gather offers the industry a completely new way to manage stakeholder engagement in clinical trials and is specifically designed to simplify and connect the traditionally independent technology systems used in clinical trials today. The product suite offers end-to-end engagement for all participants in clinical studies, from design through to completion. This can now be delivered through one fully integrated system making clinical technology adoption simpler and more efficient for sponsors, sites and patients.

Tim Davis, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Exco InTouch commented, “The digital technology market for healthcare has grown rapidly in recent years and we believe that the time has come for our industry to take a step back and to re-assess how we approach the use of digital technology within the clinical environment. Gather is the realisation of this vision.”

All modules, from patient recruitment and study design through to eCOA and reporting are seamlessly connected and fully integrated into Gather, bringing a vast array of benefits to all those involved. For example, the system provides unrivalled two-way transfer of information between patients, site managers and study teams, while ensuring it remains strictly within study protocols. Sponsors are able to simply select the modules suited to their trial protocols, adding and removing elements as appropriate with no disruption.

Furthermore, an intuitive user interface includes role-based permissions as standard, providing appropriate levels of access, reporting and analytics according to the defined access level of the registered user. For example, Gather provides site investigators, healthcare professionals and study managers access to a tailored view of relevant data and results, including automatic access to accurate patient feedback in real time.

Crucially, Gather can be accessed through any internet-connected device, allowing the selection of the most appropriate device, or devices, for the study protocol, geography and patient demographic. eCOA capture is therefore simplified and patients are more engaged, resulting in the collection of better quality data.

Davis continued, “By combining our existing patient-centric products within one system, we have created something that is far greater than the sum of its parts. Gather provides enhanced engagement for all stakeholders in the clinical trial process improving efficiency, workflow and providing a logical integrated view of data generated throughout the study lifecycle.”

The product suite is built on a secure, scalable infrastructure, utilising Exco InTouch’s patented mDNA technology to optimise the user interface whilst ensuring personally identifiable information (PII) is protected. In addition, a rules engine has been designed and embedded to enhance workflow control and flexibility, defining actions based on user inputs.

“The pharmaceutical industry is sometimes seen as slow to adapt” comments Davis, “but we expect everyone involved to quickly pick up on the immense benefits this approach brings with it – Gather will have a transformational effect on how we design, conduct and evaluate future trials. We set ourselves the challenge of fundamentally redefining the clinical trial experience for everyone involved. Our aim wasn’t to look for incremental changes, as often happens with solution providers, but to solve real challenges which face the industry and we believe that Gather has achieved this.”