Raleigh, NC – May 23, 2025 – Castor, a leading provider of clinical trial technology, announced today a significant update to its eConsent platform, making a one-time password (OTP) login the default for all eConsent implementations. This change, coupled with a seamless participant journey, addresses common hurdles in remote clinical trial participation, aiming to reduce drop-off rates and improve data capture efficiency.
Traditional eConsent systems often introduce unnecessary friction by requiring participants to create accounts, verify emails, and set passwords before accessing screening or consent forms. This multi-step process frequently leads to participant disengagement, a critical challenge in remote and decentralized clinical trials.
What Castor Changed:
Castor’s updated eConsent workflow now defaults to OTP login, eliminating the need for account setup or password creation. Participants receive a single-use code, allowing immediate access to the study workflow. This means:
- No account creation burden: Participants bypass the typical account setup process.
- Instant access: A single-use code provides immediate entry.
- Continuous flow: Participants move directly from a study landing page to screener and then to eConsent within a single, uninterrupted session.
“This isn’t about adding a ‘shiny feature.’ It’s about fixing a fundamentally broken process that most vendors still get wrong,” stated Lisa Charlton, Chief Product Officer at Castor. “Our focus is on creating an intuitive, consumer-grade experience that aligns with how people interact with technology in their daily lives, while maintaining compliance and security.”
Why This Matters for Clinical Trials:
This streamlined approach directly impacts critical study metrics:
- Improved Participant Engagement: By removing login barriers, participants can engage with the study at their moment of interest, reducing the likelihood of drop-off.
- Reduced Site Burden: Sites spend less time on participant support related to login issues, freeing up resources for direct patient care and data management.
- Enhanced Data Quality and Completeness: A smoother onboarding and engagement process contributes to higher completion rates for screeners and eConsent, ensuring a more complete and reliable dataset.
Supporting Data:
In a recent real-world evidence study leveraging this OTP-enabled workflow, Castor observed:
- >98% Screener Completion: Across a substantial participant cohort, almost all individuals who initiated the screener completed it.
- Single-Session Completion: All screener completions occurred within a single participant session, highlighting the efficiency of the direct workflow.
- Zero Custom Development: The implementation required no custom development work, leveraging Castor’s standard, configurable platform.
This enhanced workflow directly supports fully remote, direct-to-patient study designs, enabling seamless transitions from initial interest expression through screening and consent, all from the participant’s own device.
Compliance and Security:
OTP login is designed to be secure, 21 CFR Part 11 compliant, and fully auditable. It reduces the risk associated with unmanaged credentials by eliminating the need for participants to create and remember complex passwords, thereby enhancing overall security posture.
The Castor Standard:
One-time password login is now standard for all Castor eConsent implementations. This decision reflects Castor’s commitment to optimizing clinical workflows for participants, rather than imposing technological hurdles.
🎥 See the OTP flow in action in our 2025 Product Spotlight webinar.
