Author: MRN
Each year, Patients as Partners drives the conversation around clinical trials further, and this year was no exception.
At the heart of the discussions this year there was a noticeable shift: Artificial Intelligence is no longer a side topic or an emerging concept, it’s becoming central to how we think about the future of patient recruitment and engagement. From smarter trial matching to predicting dropout risk, AI is being positioned as the tool that could finally streamline the patient journey.
But as conversations evolved, one question surfaced repeatedly:
As we bring AI into the recruitment and trial experience, are we enhancing the human element…or replacing it?
From Patient-centricity To Integrated Engagement
One of the strongest undercurrents throughout the event was the evolution from patient-centricity to truly integrated engagement. It’s a small shift in wording but a massive leap in execution. No longer is it enough to theoretically “put the patient at the center”, but rather bring patients into the process – collaboratively, consistently, and meaningfully.
Integrated engagement is about involving patients in shaping protocols, designing more inclusive recruitment strategies, and informing what meaningful outcomes should actually look like. But none of that can happen if participation remains as burdensome and opaque as it has been in traditional trial models.
The Burden of Participation
Historically, clinical trials haven’t been designed around the patient’s lived experience. Lengthy travel, time off work, invasive procedures, complex instructions, and inflexible schedules have all contributed to a heavy burden, especially for individuals living with chronic, rare, or debilitating conditions.
It’s no surprise then that recruitment and retention continue to be persistent challenges. Patients aren’t declining out of disinterest; they’re saying no because the physical, mental and emotional cost of participating is often too high.
The standard recruitment process hasn’t helped either. Patients are often treated as anonymous data points in over-generalized outreach efforts that lack clarity, transparency, and human connection. The result is a process which feels clinical in the worst way – impersonal and inaccessible.
Can AI Help?
This is where AI presents a real opportunity. At its best, AI can:
- Identify more appropriate patient matches faster
Using health records, trial protocols, and eligibility criteria to improve precision in pre-screening. - Streamline communications
Automating updates, reminders, and educational materials that are customized to a patient’s specific journey. - Predict and prevent dropouts
Prompting early intervention by analyzing behavioral and health data to flag when a patient might be at risk of disengaging. - Inform protocol design
Leveraging patient-reported data and engagement history to shape trials that are more realistic and less burdensome.
These improvements aren’t just good for sponsors, they’re good for patients. Less time wasted on unsuitable trials, more visibility into what participation involves. and a smoother, more supportive experience from recruitment to completion.
But we can’t ignore the flipside.
The Risk: Losing the Human Touch
Speed and scale are AI’s strengths, but empathy remains a human one.
Over-relying on automated systems can easily strip away the very human nuances that patients rely on – feeling heard, being guided by real people, and developing trust with their care team. Technology should support relationships, not replace them.
If AI is implemented without that foundational respect for patient voice and agency, it risks becoming yet another barrier, another black box that patients don’t understand and don’t feel connected to.
The Balance: Human + AI
So where does this leave us?
AI should be an enabler, not a replacement. It should simplify complex processes, reduce administrative burden, and free up human capacity so clinical teams can spend more time doing what only humans can – building relationships, answering nuanced questions, and responding to emotional needs.
Used wisely, AI can enhance the patient experience. But to do so, it must be embedded into a broader strategy of integrated engagement, one that listens to, designs with, and prioritizes the people at the center of our trials.
Protocol Complexity, Diversity, and Meaningful Progress
Other key themes from the event built on this same principle: reducing burden and increasing collaboration. Complex protocols were flagged as a major barrier to patient participation, with industry leaders calling for intentional design that limits unnecessary assessments and aligns better with patients’ daily lives.
Diversity was also a recurring focus, not just in demographic checkboxes, but in recognizing the systemic and practical barriers different communities face when participating in trials. Reaching diverse populations means working with new sites, trial-naïve investigators, and using flexible models like Home Trial Support and Site Professional Support – solutions that are able to reduce geographical, cultural, and logistical barriers (read more on how to achieve this here).
The Future is Hybrid
The future of patient engagement in clinical trials is not AI versus human – it’s AI and human.
As we reflect on another inspiring Patients as Partners, it’s clear the next era of clinical trials will be built on smarter systems, yes – but also deeper listening, greater empathy, and real collaboration with the patients we aim to serve.
To truly move from patient-centricity to integrated engagement, we must blend innovation with intention. That means ensuring every tool we adopt, AI included, makes it easier, not harder for people to say yes to research that could change lives.
Discover how MRN’s solutions make it easier for patients to participate in clinical trials here.