Innovative Strategies for Decreasing Blood Collection Wait Times for Patients in Early-Phase Cancer Clinical Trials.

Purpose: Long wait times are a primary source of dissatisfaction among patients enrolled in early-phase clinical trials. We hypothesized that an automated patient check-in system with readily available display for increasing awareness of waiting intervals would improve patient flow and use of our rooms, with decreased turnover time and increased throughput.

Methods: We recorded in-room wait times for patients seen in our clinic and observed the logistics involved in the blood collection process to delineate causes for delays.

Recommendations for enhancing clinical trials education: a review of the literature.

This study aims to apply the evidence-based practice (EBP) process to determine the factors that influence patients' understanding of, participation in, and satisfaction with clinical trials, the informed consent process, and treatment decisions and to make recommendations for improving clinical trials education. Beginning with evidence retrieval, the authors identified key search terms and searched MEDLINE--Ovid, MEDLINE--PubMed, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature to identify articles published between July 2001 and July 2006 that highlighted clinical trials education. The articles were reviewed for clinical trials patient education information, clinician methods of communicating clinical trial information to patients, and patient satisfaction with the clinical trials process, including the informed consent process.