Patient Interests, Our Priorities

Ensuring that the Patients’ Experience is a good one, is an important part of making travel arrangements for patients who are enrolled in clinical trials.

Pets are part of the family, so it’s no surprise that Colpitts receives many requests for patients to bring along their service or companion animals while on medical-related travel. Only certain vendors allow non-service animals, and there are often a number of steps that need to be taken in order to bring a pet on airlines and in ground transportation vehicles. The importance of having a companion animal can’t be underestimated, so Colpitts takes the stress out of arranging for pet travel by coordinating necessary paperwork and researching pet-friendly airlines, sedan services and hotels, as well as any associated fees. In the event that patients cannot bring their pet, Colpitts has identified kennels to care for the animals. In one case, a family was unable to put their dog in a kennel while they traveled to a clinical site, so Colpitts arranged for a dogsitter to stay at the family’s home and care for the dog.

Travel is a luxury that not everyone can afford. Therefore, if a medical need necessitates travel, not everyone is familiar with the associated costs or what is involved logistically. Colpitts’ Clinical Team must often explain to patients, families, site coordinators and sponsors how air travel works, and how long it takes to fly or drive somewhere. In some cases, patients may have travel preferences that are not going to work in their best interests. The Clinical Experts will not only explain the disadvantages of these plans, but also suggest more effective alternatives.

A patient who needed to travel from East Asia to the United States for treatment wanted to stay overnight in the US for one night after treatment and then return home until the following week when they would have to travel again for subsequent treatment. The Colpitts Clinical Team explained that the cost of two round-trip tickets would exceed the cost of a one-week stay in a US hotel, and that the physical and mental strain of two long trips within a short period of time may take a toll on the patient, who agreed. Ensuring that patients understand and are satisfied with their travel arrangements is a small gesture that can have a large impact on patients’ overall clinical trial experience.