Digital platform for GPs 'could transform clinical trials'

A new digital platform designed to make it easier for GPs in the NHS to participate in clinical trials has been formally launched in the UK.

The DaRe2THINK platform – developed by the University of Birmingham and the MHRA's Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) – is described as a conduit for transferring health data between GP practices and NHS trial investigators that keeps patient information secure and reduces the administrative burden placed on GPs of participating in studies.

According to its developers, DaRe2THINK uses health information already collected in the NHS to reduce the burden of research, for both patients and NHS staff. It securely screens routine healthcare records from over 13 million NHS patients across more than 450 practices in England.

It allows the NHS to reach new and larger groups of patients that could benefit from new treatments, opening the possibility of research to populations that would not have previously taken part. Underpinning the project is the use of mobile messaging systems to make sure that trial subjects remain engaged in a study.

"This platform represents a paradigm shift in how we conduct primary care research," commented Puja Myles, director of the CPRD.

"By leveraging routine health data and advanced digital tools, we're removing traditional barriers that have prevented many communities from accessing the benefits of clinical trial participation."

The first DaRe2THINK project is investigating whether earlier intervention with treatments already available via the NHS can prevent blood clots and memory loss in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), a common heart rhythm condition associated with vascular dementia.

Around a quarter of the practices involved in the first study are in England's most health-deprived areas, which should help address inequalities in clinical research participation.

"Running NHS research in our local communities has a huge potential to improve the health and wellbeing of citizens and society," said lead investigator Prof Dipak Kotecha, a cardiologist at the University of Birmingham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

According to the researchers behind the project, only five patients need to be invited by a primary care team for one patient to be randomised, a result that they say surpasses the usual hit rate in clinical trial recruitment.

The trial is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme, and run in partnership with NHS providers and the NIHR Research Delivery Network.

A related project, called DaRe2THINK Neurovascular, is exploring how AF causes cognitive decline and vascular dementia and if blood thinners protect the structure of the brain (and so preserve brain function), or if they impact on blood vessels throughout the body. That knowledge would improve the management of patients, not only with AF, but also similar conditions that affect the blood vessels.