Granular Funnel Data: Why it Matters

Real-Time, Granular Metrics Are Key to Successful Patient Recruitment

Measurement in patient recruitment is hard.

Traditionally, recruitment efforts are monitored with high-level metrics like the total number of patients applied or enrolled. But these broad metrics often miss the underlying issues that can cause delays. To truly optimize recruitment, clinical operations leaders need real-time, granular metrics that offer insight at every stage of the recruitment funnel. One of the challenges so far has been the inability to measure recruitment in real-time, and at a site-level, which we’re addressing head on.

You Can’t Fix What You Can’t See

High-level recruitment metrics mask the real problems.

Many clinical operations teams rely on broad data to assess recruitment progress—metrics like total applications or enrollment numbers. While this can give you a general sense of where things stand, it’s not enough to pinpoint where issues are happening. A few patients may be applying, but where are they dropping off? Are sites following up with qualified applicants? Are screening visits being scheduled?

By breaking down the recruitment funnel into more granular stages—top, mid, and bottom funnel—you get a clearer view of exactly where things go wrong. For example, you might have a healthy number of qualified applicants at the top of the funnel, but if mid-funnel metrics show that sites aren’t following up with those applicants, that’s a critical gap you can address before it delays your timeline.

Breaking Down the Recruitment Funnel: What Metrics Matter

Each stage of the recruitment funnel needs its own set of metrics to identify where patients are dropping off.

To really understand the health of your recruitment process, it’s important to track performance at different stages of the funnel. Here’s a breakdown of key metrics we track at each stage for every trial:

1. Top of Funnel:

• Total applies: How many patients are expressing interest?
• Qualified applies: How many patients are qualified after medical record screening and are being referred to sites for further action?

2. Mid Funnel:

• Actioned patients: Are sites following up with patients?
• Conversations: Are sites actively engaging with patients, either through calls or messages?
• Screening visits booked: Are qualified applicants moving toward screening visits?

3. Bottom of Funnel:

• Screening visits completed: Are patients showing up for their visits?
• Enrolled patients: How many patients are randomized into the trial?

Each of these stages needs its own attention. Focusing only on total applies or total enrolled misses the layers in between where things often go wrong.

Using Data to Improve Site Performance: Tracking at the Individual Site Level

Site-level metrics allow you to spot issues early and course-correct quickly.

Granular data isn’t just valuable for understanding the overall recruitment funnel—it’s essential for evaluating performance at the individual site level. Recruitment success can vary dramatically between sites, and without real-time visibility, it’s easy for underperformance at specific locations to go unnoticed until it’s too late. By tracking site-specific metrics, teams can quickly identify which sites are thriving and which need additional support to stay on target.

Key site-level metrics to track include:

• Qualified applies contacted: Are sites promptly reaching out to patients once they’ve been referred?
• Time to first call: How long does it take a site to make initial contact with a referred patient? A lengthy time to first call can be an early warning sign that a site is overwhelmed or lacking sufficient resources to manage recruitment efficiently.
• Calls per patient: How many attempts are sites making to engage patients? This metric ensures that sites are not just reaching out once and then giving up but are persistently trying to connect with potential participants.

By monitoring these metrics in real time, clinical operations teams can identify and address bottlenecks at specific sites long before they start affecting overall recruitment timelines. For example, if one site consistently takes too long to contact patients, it may indicate the need for additional staffing or process adjustments. Conversely, if a site is excelling at contacting and engaging patients, those practices can be replicated at other locations.

Real-time updates allow for immediate action - We update metrics across the funnel every 12-18 hours. Instead of waiting for a weekly or monthly report to reveal underperforming sites, teams can course-correct on the fly, adjusting recruitment strategies or reassigning resources to keep things moving forward smoothly.

If you’re interested in learning more about how you could build a more robust patient recruitment dashboard for your team, I’d be happy to share more details.

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