Government urged to put clinical signup on NHS app
Labour must include a clinical trials option for patients as part of its commitment to extend the scope of the NHS app, urges a leading life sciences lawyer.
Partner in the health and life sciences team at UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson, Charlotte Harpin said the incoming administration’s ambition to speed up the clinical trials process by embracing technology and standardising documentation could promote new investment.
“Furthering the scope of the NHS app features prominently in Labour’s manifesto healthcare pledges with a vision to create something resembling a ‘patient passport’ in which patients can access their health, appointments and medication information via a single user interface,” she observed.
“It therefore makes sense to broaden the app’s remit by integrating the ability to sign up for clinical trials as this has until now been less directly within patient control, given that they are typically enrolled on the recommendations of their clinicians or having spotted opportunities in advertising.”
Harpin acknowledged that widened use of the service would impact data protection aspects and how these would connect with the patient consent process, including the role of the Confidentiality Advisory Group in cases where consent was not being obtained.
It would also boost integration within other technological solutions that could be used to enhance the overall efficiency of the clinical trials process, she added.
“As well as widening the pool of clinical trial participants, which will bring advantages in terms of contributing to tackling inequalities in healthcare, clinical set-up times can be reduced by standardising the approvals and contracting process.”
She said that the streamlined process used during the Covid-19 pandemic illustrated the effectiveness of this for addressing urgent areas.
“A standardised approach to contract documents, as we have for NHS commissioning, would also be helpful to improve efficiency. Consideration should be given to how technology solutions could be used for this part of the process.
“However, while there are some potential quick fixes that could be implemented – for instance, enabling clinical trial sign-up via the NHS app – the development of standardised contract documentation and further streamlined governance will likely take longer.”
Pic: Pranidchakan Boonrom
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