Katie Goodman: Bring Clinical Trials to the Community Setting to Meet Patients Where They Are

Patients won't participate in a clinical trial if it's too much of a burden, so we have to bring the trials to where the patients live, explained Katie Goodman, RN, BSN, CCRP, director of clinical research, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute.

Transcript

How is community oncology poised to shape the future of cancer care in regard to clinical trials?

Community oncology practices are where most patients receive their treatment. So, if we need patients to participate in clinical trials to get the answers, to move the needle on the science, to know whether or not this next treatment is effective of not, we have to bring the trials to where those patients are being treated. We also know that patients aren’t going to participate in a clinical trial if it’s too much burden on them. So, they have to travel great distances in order to participate. Cancer patients are usually in the clinic once a week at the very least, if not more, and that is too great a burden on a patient. We want the answers, we want the science, and the only way we can really do that is to bring the trials to the patients where they live. So, it is very important to us in the practice that I work at that we continue to offer clinical trials in the community setting.