During the pandemic, countless organizations were forced to halt operations while others had no choice but to shut down completely. A swift change in businesses and organizations brought about by the COVID19 pandemic has affected hundreds of thousands if not millions of workers across the globe.
But amidst this crisis, organizations continue to operate, including pharmaceutical companies, food manufacturers, logistics, health care, and site management organizations.
What is Site Management Organization (SMO)?
SMO refers to a person or a company that provides clinical trial-related services to a clinical research organization, clinical investigator, pharmaceutical or Biotechnology Company, hospitals, or medical device company. An SMO specializes in managing clinical research sites.
Services offered by SMOs include:
- managing and identifying both investigators and sub-investigators
- preparing and making submissions to institutional review boards
- the hiring of study staff
- helping in site-specific study activities, patient recruitment, or site initiation, or close-out operations
Benefits of Site Management Organizations
Accuracy and consistency: Site Management Organization helps in detailed documentation while accelerating the process in any clinical research even when physical contact is almost impossible to contain the spread of the virus.
Reduced study timeline: The ability to adapt quickly to technology and quick study start-up assisted companies in shortening the study period.
Accelerated patient recruitment: The time taken to recruit patients is considerably reduced due to SMOs efficient follow-up skills and connections.
Time and cost savings: During the pandemic, everyone learned to cope, including multi-billion companies. Companies are working hard despite the ongoing pandemic, and they have quickly adapted to face the challenges. At the same time, they have to identify the most effective options without disrupting operations.
Despite the availability of COVID19 vaccines, the challenges and disruptions are here to stay. With that said, Site Management Organizations will still play an essential role in clinical trials, research, and many studies moving forward.