In our last blog, we discussed the importance of delivering technology that is easy to adopt and use for clinical trial site users and reviewed the responses from our recent site user survey. In this blog, we dive deeper into the customer support and service function and how we measure it at Mednet.
Easy-to-use and efficient technology is critical to the success of a clinical trial. Ideally, the technology is so seamless and easy-to-use that it requires little, if any, assistance. However, in highly complex clinical trials, which are typically time sensitive and include multiple trial sites and users, it is imperative users have access to effective and efficient customer support when they need it. Mednet makes customer support a priority, providing various levels and types of support, depending on the partner, sponsor or individual study needs, including traditional call center support, access to self-service video tutorials, study-build mentoring services and complete study build outsourcing.
Delivering Effective Customer Support
At the frontline is the Mednet customer support team, fielding inbound user support requests. This team is managed and staffed by the same people who work every day with Mednet customers on their projects. This is by design – the team is highly experienced and adept at using the software, while also being very familiar with most of the customer projects.
Mednet regularly assesses feedback about its support model and function to determine if the approach or processes need to be refined. First and foremost, Mednet conducts an ongoing customer support survey. After a support case is closed, Mednet issues a one question follow-up survey asking users to rate their satisfaction (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being ‘very satisfied’) with the level of customer service Mednet provided. This is an important gauge to measure to ensure service and support is meeting the need of users. Over the past year, the average Mednet customer support survey response is 4.8.
As described in our last blog, Mednet also conducts an annual survey of clinical trial site users. In the latest survey, nearly half (40%) of respondents indicated they have never needed to contact Mednet customer support. This is also an important metric to monitor regularly, along with volume of inbound support requests, to assess ease of use, particularly as new features and functionality is added to the system. A sudden uptick in volume or usage could indicate a problem. Together with the customer support survey, these metrics are critical to evaluate both the service provided and the ease of use of the iMednet platform.
Supporting Study Builds
Not only does technology need to be easy-to-use for clinical trial site users, but the study build process needs to be as efficient as possible. When working with Mednet, sponsors and CROs have the option to have Mednet build the study for them or they can build studies on their own. Mednet provides training and educational content to help teach study designers how to build studies on their own and / or provide additional educational content for key study roles to learn the product at their own pace.
Mednet’s robust collection of training videos are designed to provide a complete overview of iMednet features and best practices to support those users. In the recent site user survey, two-thirds (66%) of respondents reported they agree or strongly agree that Mednet’s library of support videos provide a good overview of how to use iMednet.
Study sponsors, and some CROs, choose to have Mednet build their studies. This can be an ideal option for research teams who do not have the available resources to support the heavy workload. Though the requirements shift, the level of support and the degree of care and attention does not change. The Mednet Study Build is also an interactive process that is driven by the customer’s unique needs.
Mednet regularly measures the effectiveness of its study build processes to ensure customer needs are met. A survey issued to Mednet customers after a study build is complete measures a variety of factors, including knowledge and responsiveness of their Mednet representative, timeliness of study build, confidence in navigating Mednet and overall satisfaction. When asked, “How responsive was your primary contact?”, ALL customers indicated that Mednet was highly responsive with an average response of 10 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 defined as ‘extremely responsive’. When asked, “Did Mednet deliver its portions of the study build on time?”, the average response was 9.875, with 10 defined as ‘exceeded expectations’. The survey also assessed users’ comfort level with the system. When asked to rate their confidence using and navigating iMednet, the average response was 9.125, with 10 indicating ‘extremely comfortable’. As a means of assessing overall satisfaction, the survey also asks respondents to rate how likely they would be to use iMednet for future studies. Most customers said they would use Mednet for future studies, providing an average response of 9.375, with 10 defined as ‘always’.
Mednet uses customer feedback to monitor processes and recalibrate as needed. As clinical trials evolve, the Mednet team is committed to making the platform as easy to use as possible and developing new and innovative ways to support study designers, everyday users and site staff. We leverage our deep understanding of clinical trial tasks, processes, and roles, along with feedback from customers and partners. These inputs shape our approach to the technology platform and the broad support structure we implement around it. Whether Mednet users work in clinical trials sites, sponsor offices, or CRO organizations, the Mednet platform is uniquely designed to be easy-to-use while supporting a wide range of clinical research. For more information about the platform or our approach to customer and site support, contact us.