HOSPITALS
“TRADITIONALLY , PATIENTS IN CLINICAL TRIALS HAVE NOT ALWAYS REPRESENTED THE TOTAL POPULATION ”
JENNIFER JONES-MCMEANSE DIVISIONAL VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL CLINICAL AFFAIRS , ABBOTT
Underrepresentation in clinical healthcare trials Abbott is working hard to break down the barriers to care for clinical trial participants .
On a trial level , Abbott has made an additional effort to ensure that they intentionally seek out physicians and healthcare centres catering their research to underserved patients .
“ We have an investment of US $ 5mn over five years to historically Black colleges and universities that have medical schools , the National Black Nurses Association , and the National Association of Hispanic Nurses . In the trials , what we can do is be intentional in identifying these physicians .”
Not one part of the global healthcare industry avoided being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic . For Jones-McMeans , however , it was an opportunity to realise that the healthcare industry needed to improve access for patients .
“ We knew that we could improve the trust element , but we also had to improve access . Patients can have trouble coming back and forth to the hospital or the clinic . It can be very burdensome and time consuming .”
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