RxSolutions is known as the innovator behind the one-of-a-kind RxStudy Card, a time and money-saving method of managing unblinded medications and supplies for clinical studies.
With TrialCard’s acquisition, the RxStudy Card is now backed by one of the largest pharmaceutical support staffs in the industry, and continues to be a leading solution for clinical supply managers handling studies of all sizes.
As part of their increased outreach around the trusted RxStudy Card, Tom Heck, senior vice-president for clinical trial services, answered some questions about this solution for time-strapped clinical supply personnel.
Who is the target audience for the RxStudy Card, and who should be asking you about it as part of their management strategy?
Tom Heck: Anyone in charge of managing or overseeing the clinical supply process during a drug trial should absolutely be asking us about the RxStudy Card. Clinical supply managers love it because it saves them a tremendous amount of time – nearly all of the steps behind managing unblinded medications and supplies are eliminated. No more sourcing, procuring, storing or shipping; it really is like giving those managers more time in their day. The financial teams love it too, because cutting those steps means saving a tremendous amount of money.
How exactly does the RxStudy Card work?
The RxStudy Card is an extremely efficient way for clinical trial managers to deliver unblinded clinical medications and supplies into the hands of their study subjects. Instead of processing the unblinded materials themselves, they coordinate with TrialCard to produce a personalised formulary for study subjects, loaded onto an insurance-like card. Patients can then use that card at their preferred pharmacy, speciality mail order or retail, to directly obtain the unblinded medications and supplies they need. This is more convenient for study managers and patients alike.
What is the biggest and clearest benefit of the RxStudy Card?
The savings, to put it simply – time, money and hassle. It takes a long time to plan for a clinical trial; not only is the work behind the test drug extensive but also the administrative work that goes into setting up a study can take many months.
Without the RxStudy Card, clinical supply managers must source the unblinded medication needs, procure them, find a secure and safe place to store them, manage the expiry dates, package and label them, and ship them safely to the subjects. That’s just a summary of the steps that go into managing the unblinded side of a trial. With the RxStudy Card, however, nearly all of those steps are eliminated. After setting up the card for your specific study with TrialCard, you can just sit back and leave everything else to the retail pharmacies.
What benefits might surprise potential users?
While the cost and time savings is easy to see, you might not immediately think of how much waste is also eliminated using the RxStudy Card. For example, how many times have you had to throw away sensitive medications due to temperature excursions? Whether due to a problem in shipping or an error at the storage facility, the result is the same – the study managers are responsible for the carrying cost over the life of the study, wasting that entire product, and for replacing it in time to keep a study on track. We leave all of that to the retail and speciality pharmacies that already have a successful system in place to handle sensitive items, meaning no waste for you.
TrialCard provides patient affordability, medication access and adherence, and patient support services on behalf of pharmaceutical manufacturers. Founded in 2000, TrialCard has connected more than 30 million patients with nearly $12 billion in branded-drug savings to date.
