Stanford’s Euan Ashley has conducted an entirely digital clinical trial using the MyHeart Counts app, which is being used for patient recruitment, consent and interventions, and returns data to participants.
1075 participants completed at least one intervention, and 493 completed the entire trial. The higher than normal completion rate was attributed to the ease of enrollment and use.
The digital trial “prescribed” one of four simple interventions weekly, including reminders to walk more or stand up. The team saw a 10% increase in activity compared to baseline.
The study serves as a template for future all-digital randomized clinical trials, which can include more nuanced questions, and an increase in interventions, which are ideally personalized.