Technology & Support

Technical support system

DCTs use a variety of digital tools to facilitate at-home data collection, enhance participant convenience, and enable remote monitoring. However, the use of multiple tools—often sourced from different vendors—can create challenges for both participants and support teams. It was recognized that site staff and CRAs may not have the technical expertise to resolve complex issues independently, even after consulting a knowledge base (KB). This underscores the need for robust sponsor-provided support structures, including a centralized support team that is equipped to manage both site- and participant-facing problems, thereby reducing site burden and coordinating support requests effectively.

Recommendations

This is essential in DCTs to provide consistent, reliable assistance across study teams, site staff, CRAs, and collaboration with technology vendors. The framework should include a ticketing system, a searchable KB, clear internal and external workflows, and defined communication channels. This approach reduces operational burden, streamlines issue resolution, and enables effective coordination in complex multi-vendor environments, while also empowering site staff to support participants confidently and timely.

Involve the support team from the outset of DCT design, technology selection, and system testing. Early engagement helps identify potential risks, align support processes with operational needs, and build a system and team that can adapt to evolving trial demands.

Categorise tickets by issue type (e.g., platform, device, app, third-party tool) and assign priority levels. Conduct daily ticket reviews and weekly governance meetings to track trends, uncover training gaps, and follow-up on unresolved items. Log issues related to third-party technologies directly into vendor systems and proactively monitor resolution timelines. Escalate high-impact cases and incorporate vendor performance reviews into governance meetings. Improve ticket quality and submission efficiency by using structured templates to help users submit clear, and complete tickets. This improves resolution speed and reduces unnecessary follow-up by enabling better triage and more effective support.

Provide multilingual support via phone and scheduled live or remote video sessions, including onboarding walkthroughs, and device demo or troubleshooting calls. These formats help build user confidence and facilitate timely issue resolution.

Use a familiar and intuitive format (e.g., internal wiki-style site) and optimize for searchability. Highlight high-traffic content (e.g., FAQs, troubleshooting guides) and ensure the KB is embedded in ticket workflows and training. Encourage users to consult the KB before raising tickets. Embed KB usage into onboarding and refresher training to reduce support load and empower self-service and -troubleshooting.

When systems are not integrated, offer a centralized access point or clearly organized links through the support system platform. This helps users navigate across technologies more easily and reduces delays in accessing information or assistance where needed.

Track metrics such as ticket volume, resolution times, and recurring issues to assess support effectiveness. Use issue trends and insights to refine user training, improve support workflows, and update KB content.

How Trials@Home reached these recommendations

These recommendations are based on operational experience from RADIAL, intentionally integrating only components where operational or regulatory value justified the effort. RADIAL’s support system focused on issue resolution through a centralized technical support system, featuring a structured ticketing tool and process, and a multilingual KB with training materials and FAQs. This system served as a core operational layer, supporting site staff and CRAs across all study arms through routed support requests. While training content was included, the system itself did not handle site readiness or conduct training activities. Figure 1 illustrates the key components of RADIAL’s support system. 

Implemented technology support system components along with recommended additional modules based on the experiences with RADIAL.

Ticket data, issue trends, and usage patterns were continuously reviewed in governance meetings involving both technical and operational representatives. While the platform itself did not offer built-in live support, the helpdesk aimed to respond to tickets within 24 hours. In more complex cases, live or video calls were proactively arranged—often in users’ native language. Ongoing evaluation of support interactions highlighted the importance and need for early support team involvement, intuitive tools, and flexible assistance approaches to effectively address user-facing challenges. Qualitative interviews with sites were conducted to gather experiences and recommendations for the use of a helpdesk in DCTs.

Further reading

Publications

Operationalising Decentralised Clinical Trials: Technology Insights from the Trials@Home RADIAL Proof-of-Concept Trial.

Hanke, et al
Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics
2025
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Technology Support System and Review Process for a Decentralized Clinical Trial: Trials@Home, RADIAL DCT as Case Study.

Hanke, et al
International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies
2024
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Deliverables

An interconnected, fully tested technology platform that connects the technological solutions chosen for the technology package and supports the WP3 pan-EU Pilot.

WP TECH,  2023
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Technology support system

WP TECH,  2023
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Updated summary and detailed report with recommendations for integrated technologies to be used in DCT and hybrid approaches, based on pilot findings

WP TECH,  2025
Read now