How do clinical trial payments systems affect site-sponsor relationships? IQVIA Technologies posed this question and more in a recent webinar with industry leaders George Kourtsounis, Senior Director for Clinical Trial Contracts and Grants at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS); and Casey Orvin, Chief Commercial Officer at CenExel Clinical Research and former President of the Society for Clinical Research Sites.

For the last quarter of the webinar, moderator Jim DiCesare, Senior Director for Study Operations at IQVIA Clinical Trial Payments (CTP), fielded questions from the audience. Here’s a summary of that Q&A from Trends in Sponsor-of-Choice Initiatives: Consolidating Site Payments in a Multiple CRO Model.

Q: What kind of oversight is in place at BMS, and what does that tell BMS about efficiencies and quality?

A: (Kourtsounis) We have a cross-functional team in place and standard governance, similar to what we would use to manage CROs or large, central lab partners with quarterly order management cycles. We’re looking at this from an oversight perspective and ensuring we have the right strategies. We’re also working against metrics regarding consistent site payments. So, oversight is a significant component. We’ve worked with IQVIA CTP to develop an operational playbook, which is a living document knowing that the business environment is always changing.

Q: Sponsors struggle with forecasting, as capabilities vary significantly across CROs. How does BMS feel about its current grant forecasting abilities?

A: (Kourtsounis) As a sponsor, we’ve leveraged our CROs to provide us with budget execution data, what we’re paying, and what we see in the industry. But a benefit of working with IQVIA CTP is that they have depth and breadth. Data is paramount and needs to be consistent and clear. And when you have multiple CROs, everybody has a slightly different methodology in how they will forecast. So, moving it to that one platform allows us to get accurate financial data for what we expect and how we can plan projects based on the data in the system.

Q: How can sites ensure they receive timely payments?

A: (Orvin) It’s our responsibility as sites to have complete data to invoice correctly, stay up to date on what we expect payments to be, and provide that information to sponsors. But it starts from the beginning when we’re negotiating those budgeting terms to push back a little bit when they’re not the terms we want. As a site, we should require 30-day payments.

A: (Kourtsounis) Trust me when I tell you there is no benefit to us holding payments, delaying payments, or having incomplete information. When sites present specific details on what’s being delayed, it opens a dialogue, and we can, as sponsors, identify the issue, isolate it, and address it.

Q: What data sources are you receiving to forecast payments, and is it associated with specific trials?

A: (Kourtsounis) We use an EDC system, but there are different mechanisms in how that data feeds, whether it’s an enterprise data link, read-only data, or if there are access limitations to feeding data. Work closely with your IT organization to determine where your standardized data is so that the data pull and the data feed from payments can be as consistent as possible. Still, this varies from country to country, so we discuss this as an operational initiative and as site payment execution. But I want to emphasize the efforts that are put in, particularly when you’re migrating. You’ll always have to look at competing data sources.

Q: What makes IQVIA Clinical Trial Payments different from a CRO model – isn’t IQVIA a CRO?

A: (DiCesare) I’ve been with this offering since it was known as CFS Clinical, a niche provider of CTA negotiation and payment services. We actually pioneered the concept of a third-party site payments offering, and we were quite good at it. CFS was acquired by DrugDev in 2013, and then DrugDev was acquired by IQVIA in 2017. Although IQVIA Clinical Trial Payments or CTP is part of IQVIA, we remain an autonomous third-party payment provider, just as we were at CFS Clinical and DrugDev. The broader CRO uses CTP and is essentially a client of ours for all their studies, but we operate independently and sell the solution directly to sponsors.

When we work with a sponsor that may have a stable of CROs that it uses, by converging onto one payment process, one payment technology, the sites benefit by having a single, reliable, predictable approach to getting paid for the work they perform for that sponsor. It eliminates variability and gives sites something they can count on.

Q: How has IQVIA CTP made payments easier for BMS?

A: (DiCesare) A good payment process and high site satisfaction don’t happen automatically. You need sound systems with good technology that focus on the site experience. IQVIA CTP has a dedicated site solutions team whose sole mission is to make the experience beneficial for the investigator site. First, we provide easy-to-use technology, such as a portal where sites can see their payment status. Also, we onboard the sites onto that technology through lunch-and-learns and other training sessions. Finally, we provide customer service throughout the life of the study. People need to know they can talk to someone when they need help.

A: (Kourtsounis) When we decided to go with IQVIA CTP, we wanted to give them the tools they needed to be successful and then hold them accountable for that delivery. Their site solutions team is a significant component. If you took that away and had the technology without the human element, then every site complaint would be fed through the sponsor. And if every site complaint is fed through the sponsor, we’re not gaining efficiency or value.

IQVIA CTP provides us with the shield and the information we need because they’re working globally. Utilizing IQVIA CTP’s site solutions team allows us to maintain our presence as a sponsor and maintain those site relationships. It enables us to focus on what we do while giving IQVIA Technologies everything they need to focus on being the best in the business.

A: (DiCesare) I agree; there’s no worse feeling than outsourcing something but not feeling like you’ve outsourced it. If questions are all running through you or you feel like you have to approve everything before the service provider can take action, you start to question, what did we invest in here? What are we getting if we’re still so heavily involved? So, that combination of people, process, and technology leads to a tech-enabled service offering in which both sites and sponsors benefit.

To learn more, visit iqvia.com/clinicaltrialpayments.