Studies at patients’ homes may improve accessibility and inclusiveness of drug research

Studies at patients' homes instead of at the hospital may improve access to clinical research. According to Amos de Jong, PhD candidate at Utrecht University, improved accessibility is necessary to find sufficient and representative study participants for clinical research aimed at developing new medicines and medical devices. Although clinical studies at the hospital are common practice, home studies may become more common due to recent developments. For example, researchers from Utrecht are involved in the Trials@Home project, an international consortium that aims to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of home studies. Clinical studies are necessary to develop new medicines and medical devices and to learn more about the use of existing products. In the European Union, about 4000 clinical studies start annually. However, not all patients who would like to participate can easily do so.