The Power of Shared Skillsets: Collaborative Excellence in Patient Engagement

The Power of Shared Skillsets: Collaborative Excellence in Patient Engagement

Patient recruitment is the backbone of emovis. Without suitable patients, whose well-being is ensured, there is no such thingas a successful clincial trial. This is the emovis motto.

But apart from day-to-day operations, which special skills are needed to successfully run recruitment for Germany’s foremost clinical trials company? This, and an introduction of our Patient Engagement team, will be covered in this article.

With over 9,500 recruits and over 30,000 interested participants contacting emovis, the company is an expert on the subject and has been active in the field since 2001.

The 2023 acquisition by FutureMeds further prompted emovisto reshape its existing Patient Recruitment team into a specialized Patient Engagement team, led by Ms. Nele Brennecke. The need for this team has however become apparent long before and the team will soon be responsible for engaging with patients in more German cities than just Berlin.

The skillsets Ms. Brennecke and her colleagues have refined over the course of many years serve as the cornerstone for robust patient interactions and successful trials. We recently had the chance to speak with Ms.Brennecke about what distinguishes emovis when it comes to PatientEngagement and how this knowledge is shared within our sister team atFutureMeds. The Patient Engagement Team consists of a Marketing Manager, a ReferralNetwork Representative who cooperates with physicians, a Graphic Designer, anOnline Editor, and a Junior Marketing Manager.

“Our main strength is our flexibility and our creativity,” Ms.Brennecke expressed. “There’s nothing we won’t try to reach our target audience and there certainly is no silver bullet when it comes to marketing our trials.From Instagram to newspaper ads and even advertisements on bicycles and insubway cars – we’ve built a broad and versatile portfolio that we know how to leverage.”

She elaborated by saying “This is a pivotal asset in PatientEngagement as each trial and each patient is distinct. To effectively engage with the most suitable patients, we need to speak their language.” The statistics reinforce that the team’s flexibility and creativity work. Since2020, a significant portion—65%—of trial registrants and 44% of randomized patients were reached through online advertising. Ms. Brennecke emphasized that it's not solely about speaking the language of the target population. It’s the interconnectedness within their unit that bolsters their adaptability.

“We constantly have an ear to the ground—be it with the study site or the patient contact service. This ongoing dialogue is crucial for staying flexible. It’s through this communication that we stay attuned to developing situations that require prioritization. This dynamic form of communication is a strength we're cultivating within our sister team atFutureMeds as well.”

So, how do our online recruitment strengths complementFutureMeds’ strengths?

“That's a great question,” Ms. Brennecke remarked. “Our sister team excels in utilizing its Referral Network for recruitment (a collaboration system for local doctors which helps inform patients about upcoming clincial trials). This has been a highly successful tool for them and for us. It's a skill we're eager to further develop. Additionally, our sister team commends our online recruitment activities, and there’s a mutual eagerness to learn from each other.”

Nursel Yöntem, the ReferralNetwork Representative in the Patient Engagement team achieved out standing results in 2023. In her outreach efforts, she onboards medical practices to cooperate with the Referral Network. She successfully met with several rheumatologists and rheumatology practices in 2023 and the estimated combined number of PSA (psoriatic arthritis) patients, as valued by the rheumatologists in these practices, exceeds 700, forming a valuable resource for the PatientEngagement team.

These unique skillsets aren't isolated; through knowledge sharing and a commitment to learning from each other, they evolve collectively.

“The result is much greater than the sum of its parts.” She added.

This collaboration enhances not only individual performances but also the quality of patient engagement. The result: fast, effective recruitment with satisfied patients, CROs and sponsors.

“From what I see, the key is to continue learning from one another and to communicate!”

What is needed to effectively run Germany’s foremost clinical trials company is a good dose of flexibility, creativity and consistent communication coupled with a willingness to learn.

Thank you so much for taking the time today! This discussion and introduction to the team and what the team is up tois very interesting. We hope that our readers also enjoyed your insights on these topics.

Find out more about our colleague Julia Schliesch and her work in the Patient Engagement team here and contact us at patientengagement@futuremeds.com. If you have any further questions.

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emovis editorial team

February 2024

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