Recruiting subjects for clinical trials has been a recurring challenge over the years including concerns that low-income and minorities are underrepresented in them (see: Low-Income, Uninsured Patients Often Excluded from Clinical Trials; Site-Less Clinical Trials as a Possible Means to Democratize Them). Because of this underrepresentation, the results of trials are often less valid. Here's an excerpt from an article on this topic (see: Barriers to Clinical Trial Recruitment and Possible Solutions: A Stakeholder Survey):
A staggering number of clinical trials fail to meet recruitment goals, which leads to delays, early trial termination, or inability to draw conclusions at trial completion due to loss of statistical power. A recent analysis found that 19% of registered trials that closed or terminated in 2011 either failed to meet accrual goals (85% of expected enrollment) or were terminated early due to insufficient accrual. More than 48,000 patients were involved in those 481 trials that were unable to meaningfully answer their primary research question.
A recent article refers to doc.ai, the developer of a smartphone app that uses AI to guide consumers through their "omics" data and help them optimize their health decisions. The company says that it is pursuing the goal of using AI to assist in the recruitment of subjects for clinical trials (see: Healthcare Artificial Intelligence Puts On A Human Face). Below is an excerpt from this article:
The doc.ai platform uses AI to help people enroll in clinical trials, determine the healthiest places they have lived and eventually see what their genetic data can tell them about health and longevity. The startup has a major deal with Anthem, Inc. the nation's second-largest health insurer, operating Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states. Together they are working with Harvard to enable consumer participation in studies best suited to their personal profiles....The company has over 25,000 users who have uploaded personal information and provided access to health records.... If doc.ai continues to demonstrate the ability to quickly enroll clinical trials it could significantly disrupt the $62 billion drug development industry.
This all sounds interesting but I was a little concerned about the following statement on the doc.ai web site: Your data is safe and secure thanks to blockchain technology which anonymizes and decentralizes your data with state of the art encryption. I think that blockchain technology has been over-hyped thus far. I hope that this is not another example of this problem.
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