KEY INITIATIVE:
PATIENT RECRUITMENT

Organizational Priority #1

Improve infrastructure and develop new services for intramural clinical research program to support growth in clinical activity.

Leader

Dottie Cirelli

Collaborators

Institutes

Description

A sub-group of the Medical Executive Committee identified inadequate patient recruitment as a contributor to the declining Clinical Center census. The Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison Office (PRPL) was opened to assist Institutes to
recruit patients to clinical studies, respond to clinical research study inquiries, conduct preliminary screening for designated protocols, and refer prospective patients to appropriate Institute contacts for further information and screening. The PRPL must
also reach population groups who, in the past, have not had the opportunity to benefit from participation in clinical studies.

Accomplishments-to-Date

FY 97-98

• PRPL referrals: 5310; # enrolled in protocols: 543
• Awarded Communications and Patient Recruitment contract
• Concept and approach approved by Clinical Center Executive Committee
• Environmental research completed
• Brand and tag line developed and approved

FY 99

• PRPL expands services to include recruitment consults (recruitment to be implemented by IC)
• Contractor's recruitment clusters selected
• Outreach materials developed and approved
• Contractor's Community Leadership Council selected and convened
• Contractor's Protocol Information materials developed and submitted to IRB's
• Contractor's communications/media plan developed

FY2000 Goals

• Increase phone contacts 50% over FY99 figures
• Increase Internet contacts by 25% over FY99 figures
• Increase number of new patients and healthy volunteers enrolled as result of PRPL recruitment by 30% over FY99 figures
• Increase cultural diversity of new PRPL contacts by 20% per year
• Develop internal patient recruitment training presentation
• Conduct study with PRPL contacts to evaluate PRPL services and the patient referral process

  Definition
  Contact is an individual who reaches the PRPL via phone, Internet, fax, or mail and is entered in database.