I switched to Agenda to manage some paperwork and planning on a clinical trial we run. In a trial one actuall have LOADS of paperwork, because every patient needs numerous forms filled, blood tests attached, visits and phone calls planned and so on. The electronic database, that our Sponsor and CRO gave to us is clunky, laggy and glitchy. We use it only because we must, cince it complies with GCP standards. But to manage the data on several dozens patients we monitor, I switched to Agenda.
So, after installing Agenda, I created a new category. Every patient is a project. There is also a separate project, where I keep all templates and check-lists I need.
For example, when the patient comes to our office and decides to join the study, I need to guide him through all initial procedures. That means telling him everything about the study, obtaining informed consent, taking screening blood tests and so on. The check list for the first visit has around 40 elements. So, I open Agenda, copy the checklist to the newly created project and start talking.
Sometimes, I need to recall the results of some blood tests. Loading electronic database is not an option - I need the information quickly. Getting the paper record may be problematic, because the doctors in the clinic use them all the time and don’t like it, when we, researchers, grab the records. Searching the e-mail (we forward all tests results to our Sponsor) also takes too long. One could say: “Hey, just put the files in the folders and be accurate with file names and folder hierarchy”. But just clicking the patient in the Agenda and scrolling down to the proper entry is easy and really saves time.
Finally, I plan all the phone calls with Agenda, which also saves me lots of time, because I tend to forget things.
This concept of using Agenda may be incompatible with certain HIPAA or GCP regulations, thus rendering it useless for strict clinical studies, namely Phase III. But for far more relaxed Phase IV outside of USA, it works fine.