WE CAN FIX WHAT’S BROKEN IN RESEARCH—IF WE SOLVE THE RIGHT PROBLEMS

The clinical research industry is pouring billions into recruitment efforts—AI tools, glowing ads, even mining EMR data with near-surgical precision. Yet, enrollment rates refuse to move. Where are all these resources going if patients still aren’t showing up? 

They’re being wasted because the real barriers aren’t being addressed. Too many patients are slipping through the cracks. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. Here’s what could be keeping your trials stuck and what we can do to change it. 

Systemic failures in recruitment aren’t new—we just keep ignoring them. 

Clinical trials often operate as though their participants live in a vacuum. But patients live in the real world, with real obstacles. And instead of removing those obstacles, the industry builds more of them. 

• Protocol design is a nightmare. 
  Nearly a quarter of clinical trials exclude 90% or more of potential participants due to strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. That’s not just bad math; it’s creating a system where diversity and representation are hardly possible. 

• Patients aren’t being compensated fairly. 
  Ever tried covering your own travel costs or taking unpaid time off work to participate in a study? All too often, patients are effectively being penalized financially. 

• Logistics can be unbearable. 
  Back-to-back site visits, tedious paperwork, and invasive procedures are the norm. For many patients, taking part in clinical trials simply isn’t worth the headaches—and who can blame them? 

Instead of correcting these problems, we double down on short-term fixes. We throw money at new tech, new vendors, shiny new buzzwords…but never address the core issues. 

The cost of doing nothing is failure. 

When patients can’t, won’t, or don’t show up, clinical trials grind to a halt. Here’s what that can look like. 

1. Under-enrollment often means delays. 

It’s not unusual for trials to fall months or even years behind schedule, bleeding resources and momentum. 

2. Data gets skewed by underrepresentation.

When trials don’t proportionally include the populations they’re meant to serve, the results stop being reliable. Underserved patient groups are entirely overlooked, and resulting treatments may not work for them.

3. Fewer breakthroughs reach the market. 

Therapies that could save lives stall in development because the research can’t get the numbers. This is clinical research as a roadblock, not a road forward. 

Patients lose. Communities lose. Trials fail. 

It’s time we stop tackling the wrong problems and focus on what works instead. 

Patient-first solutions can actually move the needle. 

At Scout, we’re putting in the effort every day. We don’t just focus on niche tech and hope it works, or rely on automation without context. 

We focus on patients: what they need, what they deserve, and what it’ll really take to get them into your trial. Here’s how. 

Scout helps make trial participation easier. 

Patients shouldn’t have to struggle to show up. That’s why we handle travel coordination from start to finish—flights, rides, hotels, meals, you name it. 

We also offer simple, fast reimbursements. No red tape. No unnecessary fees. Just solutions that ensure participation doesn’t add financial burden for patients.  

Or maybe tax restrictions preclude simple payments from being the best choice for the patient—we've got solutions for those situations, as well. 

Learn more about our participant services. 

Scout helps break down barriers to trial accessibility.

Recruiting a diverse population means meeting patients where they are. We offer multilingual support, culturally sensitive policies, and locally relevant solutions to level the playing field for all participants. 

Explore how we address the diverse needs of global trials. 

Scout helps you rethink patient activation.

Recruitment isn’t just about filling quotas for today. It’s about creating trust for tomorrow. 

By seeing the big picture —proactively supporting participants, sustaining engagement, and addressing patient needs before they arise—we build relationships that last across studies. 

When you support patients, patients support your trials. Simple as that.

It’s time to redefine trial success. 

Fixing clinical trials starts with fixing the right problems. That means putting people first, every single time. 

Scout Clinical is proof that when you address the right problems, enrollment follows. Patient retention follows. Success follows. 

And yet, the question remains. Will the clinical research industry step up? Or will we keep playing this same broken record? 

The choice is ours. 

Eva Wilson joined Scout in 2023. As Content and Communications Strategist, she bridges marketing expertise and patient impact by crafting engaging messaging that resonates with the unique needs of the sites and patients we support.