MC08
The Clinical Research Navigator: A Novel Role and Its Impact on Research Participation By Clinic Patients.

Thursday, May 31, 2018
Exhibit Hall A (Nashville Music City Center)
Danielle M Taylor, BA , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Refujia Gomez, BS , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Amber Alexander, MSc , UCSF Neurology, MS Research Coordinators, San Francisco, CA
Jennifer Arjona, BA, MS , UCSF Neurology, MS Research Coordinators, San Francisco, CA
Sergio Baranzini, PhD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Patrick Barba, BS , UCSF Neurology, MS EPIC Team, San Francisco, CA
Bruce AC Cree, MD, PhD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Michael Devereux, B.S. , UCSF Neurology, MS Research Coordinators, San Francisco, CA
Samuel Friedman, BS , UCSF Neurology, MS Research Coordinators, San Francisco, CA
Priya Garcha, BSc , UCSF Neurology, MS Research Coordinators, San Francisco, CA
Jeffrey M Gelfand, MD, MAS , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Douglas S. Goodin, MD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Jennifer S Graves, M.D. PhD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Ari J Green, MD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Ariele Greenfield, MD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Stephen L Hauser, MD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Roland Henry, PhD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Xiaoming Jia, MD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Liana Kanaaneh, BA , UCSF Neurology, MS Research Coordinators, San Francisco, CA
Kristen Krysko, MD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Robin Lincoln, BS , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Michael Manguinao, BS , UCSF Neurology, MS Research Coordinators, San Francisco, CA
Naomi Okinishi, MPH , UCSF Neurology, MS Research Coordinators, San Francisco, CA
Jorge Oksenberg, PhD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Samuel Pleasure, MD, PhD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Nicholas Ragan, BSc , UCSF Neurology, MS EPIC Team, San Francisco, CA
Nisha Revirajan, MD , UCSF Neurology, MS Research Coordinators, San Francisco, CA
Andrew Romeo, MD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Gillian Rush, BSc , UCSF Neurology, MS EPIC Team, San Francisco, CA
Joseph Sabatino Jr., MD, PhD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Ryan Schubert, MD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Nancy Shum, BS , UCSF Neurology, MS Research Coordinators, San Francisco, CA
Sneha Singh, BSc , UCSF Neurology, MS Research Coordinators, San Francisco, CA
Collin Spencer, BS , UCSF Neurology, MS Research Coordinators, San Francisco, CA
Emmanuelle Waubant, MD, PhD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Michael Wilson, MD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Scott Zamvil, MD, PhD , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA
Riley Bove, MD, MMSc , UCSF Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, San Francisco, CA



Background:

There is a need to streamline recruitment efforts from clinical spaces in large multiple sclerosis (MS) practices, such as the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) MS Center.

Objectives:

To evaluate the impact of a pilot position, the Research Navigator, on recruitment workflow and enrollment in clinical research studies.

Methods:

Annually, investigators in the UCSF MS Center see over 5,000 patients with MS and other demyelinating diseases, recruit for over 20 observational and interventional studies, and employ over a dozen research coordinators. The Research Navigator screens clinic patients for their eligibility for ongoing studies and from a designated central location in the clinic, communicates with clinicians, individual study coordinators, and administrative staff to coordinate approaching and referring patients. To evaluate the effectiveness of this position, enrollment data for recruiting studies were compared over two 2-week periods: just before the position opened, and 6 months after. Additionally, to evaluate the impact of the Research Navigator on clinical research operations, qualitative feedback was obtained from research and clinic administrative staff (>70% response rate).

Results:

The proportion of eligible clinic patients referred to studies increased significantly, from 11% of patients referred in the 2 weeks prior to Research Navigator, to 19% in the 2 week-period 6 months after (p = 0.022). Enrollment of eligible patients also increased, from 5% prior, to 13% after (p = 0.009), and the proportion of patients referred from clinicians other than a study’s Principal Investigator increased. Additionally, the Research Navigator role received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both research and clinical administrative staff. For example, 63% of Clinical Research Coordinators spent more than 1 hour weekly screening patients for eligibility prior to Research Navigator (mean = 4-5hrs/week); 80% of these reported a decrease in time spent screening patients after the introduction of the Research Navigator (new mean= 0-1hr/week). All Clinical Administrative Staff (100%) either strongly agreed or agreed that having the Research Navigator in clinic increased their confidence in forwarding patients to appropriate Research Coordinators.

Conclusions:

The Research Navigator presents a more streamlined and unbiased way to refer and enroll patients from a busy clinical academic practice to a broad platform of clinical studies and trials.