Patientprimary, a division of mdgroup, works with B4B Payments to provide swift and easy expense reimbursement to support clinical trial participation.

About Patientprimary

Patientprimary, division of mdgroup, facilitates remarkable patient experiences at every stage of the clinical journey. Powered by next-generation care management tools and technologies, their solutions focus on the four key metrics of a successful clinical trial: recruitment, engagement, retention, and trial outcomes.

The situation

When founded in 2017, Patientprimary supported rare trials with ultra-hard-to-find participants. That all changed in 2020 as governments and research centres provided additional support to get patients to trial fast. Patientprimary responded by widening its reach to support trials for less rare diseases. With global reporting on the high-profile vaccine and COVID treatment trials throwing the clinical research process into the spotlight, there was increased interest and an uptick in people signing up to participate. Between 2020 and 2021, there were over 20,000 clinical trials in the US alone.

With increased participant numbers come more opportunities to develop life-changing treatments, but increased scale also brings a need for innovation to ensure that trials continue to run smoothly and efficiently. Delays in the reimbursement of expenses incurred, for example travelling to clinics, can lead to participants having a negative experience, which can often result in them not completing the trial.  Like many industries, the clinical research industry has had to look to digital technologies to deliver trials at an increased scale while maintaining safe working practices in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The solution

The global clinical trials market is expected to grow at a rate of 5.7% annually until 2028. An essential aspect of clinical trials is keeping participants engaged and appropriately reimbursed for expenses incurred. Card-based reward schemes can offer participants immediate return on their contributions and the ability to spend in millions of locations worldwide.

Patientprimary seamlessly used B4B’s programme to distribute funds to participants in a wide range of countries using GBP, EUR or USD cards. The ease of use for both the clinics and participants as a method of reimbursing trial participants improves the trial experience and crucially increases the retention in follow-ups, reducing the need to recruit additional participants. In addition to reimbursing participants, they supported participants who were incurring significant costs travelling from home by preloading the card ahead of time to support them along their journey. 

Our card-based reward programme also encouraged ongoing engagement by offering instant compensation for completing tasks such as diary entries, meaning that researchers can ensure that data is gathered promptly and that participants are kept engaged for the duration of the trial, improving data quality. Our iOS and Android app allows cardholders to view their balance and transactions and upload photo expense receipts where required, with the latest biometric login features for the highest levels of cardholder security. 

The benefits

‘’B4B payments’ innovative solutions offered an effective method of reimbursing and compensating trial participants, increasing the likelihood of compliance and of attendance at follow-up visits, and potential participation in follow-up and future trials.’’

Our card solutions paired with Patientprimary services and processes, eliminated the need for trial participants to pay up-front and apply for reimbursement, encouraged ongoing compliance by offering instant rewards with a card-based reward scheme and ensured Patientprimary will be kept in front of mind for returning participants with our fully branded card solution.

B4B played a vital part in supporting Patientprimary in their journey, helping to drive improved participation levels and maintaining smoother and more efficient processes.

To find out more, contact us today!