Could patient recruitment soon become an entirely automated industry?

In an increasingly digital world, professionals in industries across the board have likely wondered whether, in the near future, their jobs could be replaced by machines. Patient recruitment is in this conversation as well. And we at Praxis have definitely asked ourselves if the important work we’re all doing could one day be done by robots.

We’ve come to the conclusion that – at least for now – the patient recruitment industry is safe from becoming completely automated.

We’re an industry on a mission to help people, to bring treatments to market that can alleviate symptoms, treat diseases, and change lives. We’ve seen some incredible technological advancements in recent years – from systems that can comb through patient data faster than ever before to artificial intelligence that can detect and mirror human emotions. But so far, none could ever replace the compassion necessary to create compelling pharmaceutical recruitment materials and campaigns.

A big part of the work we do involves diving into the psyche of patients. We use social listening to tap into how they’re feeling and what they’re thinking, and we identify the nuances of expressing each. Technology has advanced to a point where automating this part of our process is plausible, but it’s the next piece of the puzzle where Homo sapiens truly shine.

We, as humans, are able to take all those feelings and thoughts and process them in an equally human way. This means we can develop creative that truly speaks to the humanness of what the patient is going through. We can analyze protocols through a lens of emotion and practicality, and we can intelligently adapt strategy in real time as goals evolve and issues arise.

And for the time being, this remains a skill set entirely unique to humankind.

Interested in having us – a team made entirely of humans, we promise – help with recruitment for your next clinical trial? Let’s talk.