ASK vs in-house recruitment
Most sites recruit by hand: coordinators review charts, call lists, chase authorizations and fax records requests. ASK automates the follow-up and the paperwork, so coordinators spend their time with patients who are likely to qualify.
Your coordinators’ time is the real cost
- In-house recruitment works when you have staff to spare and patients already in your database.
- ASK adds new patients and does the chasing, so your team’s hours go to qualified patients, not lists and paperwork.
- ASK’s numbers: $9 per lead and $1,250 per enrollment. [2]
What manual screening costs
A study at a cancer center measured the effort behind eligibility screening. Finding, screening and enrolling one patient took 3.4 to 8.8 staff hours on average, depending on the type of study. The personnel cost of screening alone was $129 to $336 per enrolled patient, in 2012 dollars, before advertising or physician time. [1]
ASK and in-house recruitment, side by side
| Step | ASK | In-house team |
|---|---|---|
| Finding patients | Protocol-specific ad campaigns reach new patients | Chart review and existing patient lists |
| First contact | Automatic SMS and email within minutes, day or night | When a coordinator gets to the list |
| Follow-up | Automatic until the patient responds | Manual calls and voicemails |
| Records authorization | Signed online, with automatic reminders | Paper or email, chased by staff |
| Provider requests | Sent and tracked automatically, AI-reviewed on return | Faxed and followed up by staff |
| Visibility | One live pipeline with cost per lead and per enrollment | Spreadsheets and memory |
How we compared
The research figures come from the published study listed below. ASK’s figures come from recruitment campaigns ASK has run; results vary by protocol, indication and location. Spot an error? Email hello@shishirk.com and we’ll fix it.
Sources
- Penberthy LT, Dahman BA, Petkov VI, DeShazo JP. “Effort Required in Eligibility Screening for Clinical Trials.” Journal of Oncology Practice 2012;8(6):365–370. PubMed Central
- ASK, results from recruitment campaigns ASK has run.