INFOSHEET 04: Create websites that recruit and retain patients, and engage and inform HCPs

Awareness of clinical studies is extremely low among the general population, and information on them is difficult to find for both patients and HCPs. 43% of the population use a ‘general internet search’ to look for clinical study information.So, failure to provide an accessible, simple to navigate website containing clear and comprehensive information, creates a huge barrier to recruiting for your clinical study.

It’s time to put yourself in the shoes of patients and HCPs, and create websites that enhance their experiences, and your clinical study’s success.

The importance of clinical study websites

Your clinical study website is arguably the most important patient-facing tool that your clinical study can provide. It’s often the first place that a patient and HCP will go to for information and therefore should be easy to navigate visually, and use plain language to educate people on everything they need to know about your clinical study.

Patient referral techniques  

Many clinical study websites are currently under-performing or simply not putting their best face forward in reaching patients or HCPs. At COUCH Health, we implement advanced web design techniques to build a custom online web platform that will meet your study site's unique needs. Our study-specific websites can be created with patient screening and referral capability, and feature advanced source tracking across media vehicles and real-time online reporting.

Website engagement techniques  

By understanding the patient journey in the development of a website, we can help make your website and information accessible to a broader range of people. Techniques to build into your website include:

• Patient surveys
• ChatBots
• Information videos
• Communities and forums

Patient & HCP facing website services

All of our strategic and creative services are not only guided by core principles of developing effective websites, but by deep insights into the users’ needs, journey and experience. Our areas of expertise cover:

• Responsive website design and build
• User experience strategy and implementation
• A patient centric approach to accessibility
• Health and digital literacy guidance
• Copywriting and SEO

Break down barriers with your website

Recruiting and retaining patients on a clinical study is possibly the biggest challenge for any research company. But developing a website that’s easy for patients and HCPs to find and navigate, and provides simple, comprehensive and engaging content, you can begin to break down barriers that stand in the way of hitting your recruitment targets.

If you’d like to hear more about our patient and HCP website expertise, or to discuss how we can guide you strategically and creatively in developing a clinical study website that works, contact us today.