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Abstract:
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Social media may have numerous impacts on clinical trials, both positive and negative, including patient awareness of trials, recruitment, reporting of adverse events, and blinding. Trials in therapeutic areas with historically poor accrual rates, such as oncology, may benefit from social media's ability to reduce barriers to entry. Patients benefit from forums that offer support and education. However, patients' ability to interact with each other and discuss adverse events may lead to unintended negative consequences. Patients may try to determine their treatment assignment, possibly compromising the adverse event reporting and even the blind. In addition, social media may be responsible for the communication of misinformation. Trial sponsors have been slow to enact social media policies. This presentation will propose strategies to harness the positive aspects of social media on clinical trials while minimizing the negative.
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