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Wound Care Articles and Insights
May 31, 2018

The Importance of Quality Research in the Evolution of Wound Healing

Norma Marlowe

For more than 16 years, Wound Care Advantage (WCA) has enjoyed tremendous success helping its partners administer care to patients with chronic, non-healing wounds. It has been gratifying to see the way in which wound healing has made such a positive impact on their lives.

We are motivated to find ways to heal wounds more quickly, and to prevent wounds from returning. With this mission as our catalyst, WCA has established  Advanced Discovery, a unique research and investigative alliance designed to facilitate high quality clinical trials and studies.

Our structure uniquely positions us to provide support in several ways to benefit our sponsors (vs. traditional approaches). Here’s how:

One EHR

Our electronic clinical documentation, collected over many years of operation, allows us to provide sponsors with an in-depth understanding of key patient population characteristics during the feasibility assessment phase of a study. Our insights allow us to accurately forecast run rates of patients by ulcer or wound type, severity, duration, and/or comorbidities. This, in turn, translates to realistic patient enrollment goals, based upon inclusion and exclusion criteria, and sets accurate timelines for study milestones. The continuity of a single documentation system further simplifies data analysis, alleviating the need to fine-tune disparate data from separate systems.

Multiple Sites

We manage wound care programs at multiple sites throughout the United States, typically operating as outpatient programs in conjunction with our partner hospitals. Our partners are supportive of the Advanced Discovery research initiative. They recognize and understand the benefits these studies can bring to our patient population. These clinic sites are ideal for conducting research, having been designed specifically for patients with lower extremity wounds, and difficulty with ambulation. As part of the development process for Advanced Discovery, we have worked closely with administrators to design a program that will complement existing operations. Each of our hospital partners has agreed to submit to a central IRB, streamlining the administrative burden of multi-site trials on our sponsors.

Top Physicians and Clinicians

The physicians providing care in these clinics are highly skilled in wound care and committed to providing the best possible care for their patients. They are excited to be involved with this program and contribute to the body of evidence that will help find groundbreaking new treatments supported by research. They are eager to have additional treatment options to offer their patients, as they often encounter challenges without palatable solutions.

Solid Reputation

Outpatient programs that focus on specialized wound care are well-known in their individual communities for providing the best treatment. Potential study participants would likely take this into account as they consider enrolling in an individual study. Advanced Discovery is committed to facilitating safe and ethical research, focused on the patient’s best interest.

Collaboration with Southwestern Academic Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA)

As a champion for Advanced Discovery and co-founder of SALSA, Dr. David. G. Armstrong, DPM, MD, PhD brings vast experience and knowledge of wound care-specific research to the table. Dr. Armstrong has produced over 430 peer-reviewed research papers published in scholarly medical journals in addition to over 75 book chapters.

Partnership with Gen1 Research

We are pleased to have joined with Gen1 Research as our administrative partner for Advanced Discovery. Gen1 supplies personnel, equipment, administrative and IT support, as well as professional experience. Gen1's on-site Clinical Research Staff and proprietary CTMS (Clinical Trial Management Software) will help us effectively execute all study requirements. Their experience and data-driven approach ensures accurate forecasts for your study and delivers reliable budgets as well as on-time results.

A Streamlined Approach

We have everything needed to support a well-designed research study that maintains the highest standards of good clinical practice and human protections: Access to patients with chronic wounds; trained and motivated physicians who are ready to participate; multiple sites across the country; and the support of a quality Clinical Research Organization (CRO). Our streamlined approach minimizes the friction that often slows research projects because we have all required elements from initial design through publication ready to go.

If you are considering a wound-related research project, please contact us at 888-484-3922 to discuss how we can support your effort.

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