eConsent In Clinical Trials: Insights For Implementation During COVID-19 And Beyond

By Kelly Roland & Hannah Glenny

The world has changed in the wake of COVID-19. Clinical trial sites and sponsors are scrambling to adjust traditional clinical trial practices and processes to incorporate virtual interactions and data collection methods. A New York Times article (April 4, 2020) titled “Telemedicine Arrives in the UK: 10 Years of Change in One Week” indicates a sharp global change in acceptance of such methods. New mantras such as “flattening the curve” and “social distancing” require creative solutions and methods in relation to clinical trial models.

To adjust for these changes, clinical trial sponsors must adapt their protocols, and many are urgently doing so, to provide virtual tools for clinical trial use. One example of an important tool in this space is electronic consent, or eConsent.