SCOPE 2026 in Orlando this year felt like a pivotal moment for our industry. It wasn’t just about the latest technical innovations, it was about how we ground these innovations in the human experience.
My conference experience began at dawn with Sunrise Yoga: In Gratitude for Clinical Research Participants, organized by CISCRP. PROMETRIKA, was proud to sponsor an event that centers on the very people who make our work possible. Practicing yoga as the sun rose over Orlando was a “grounded” way to start the week– it reminded me that behind every data point is a human life. The calm did not last long, though, as the conference was packed, the exhibit hall vendors were hungry, and the energy was high.
I was honored to join a Medidata sponsored panel titled Beyond the Budget Line: Integrating Patient Payments and Site Strategy to Drive Trial Equity. Our discussion focused on a simple truth – if we want diverse and equitable clinical trials, we have to look past inflexible site budgets and static patient stipends. At PROMETRIKA, we advocate for a holistic view of the patient journey. This means we don’t just look at the clinical trial itself, but also:
- The path to diagnosis: How hard was it for the patient to find out what their disease is and what treatments are available?
- Day-to-day experiences: How does the trial disrupt their work or family life?
- The caregiver’s role: How is the caregiver’s role impacted by the patient care strategy?
Sites need flexibility to adapt to their specific patient populations. One size does not fit all when it comes to patient support and site capabilities. During budget negotiations, sites need to bring to the table specific requests that are reasonable for their population and sponsors need to have the flexibility to assess whether these requests will enhance recruitment and retention of valuable patients.
You couldn’t walk five feet at SCOPE without hearing about artificial intelligence (AI). However, the collective mood was one of “cautious curiosity.” The big question on my mind each time I spoke with another IT tech vendor was: Will this AI solution actually help us bring drugs to market faster, or will it just help us reach our traditional “bottlenecks” more quickly? I walked away thinking that to ensure AI is a tool for progress, rather than just a “speed booster” for old problems, we must apply Root Cause Analysis (RCA). By using RCA to dig into the “why” behind recruitment delays and data inconsistencies, we can identify exactly where AI can be a scalpel rather than a sledgehammer. I believe if we target the deepest causes of our industry’s pain points, we have a much higher chance of true success.
SCOPE 2026 reinforced that, while the tools of our trade are changing, the mission remains the same: to help patients. I look forward to bringing back these insights to the PROMETRIKA team and continuing discussions with new connections and long-term colleagues. At PROMETRIKA, we will continue to do what we always have done: move forward with intentionality and fit-for-purpose solutions.
