Reconciliation When You Cannot Count the Boxes

Part of Decentralized Trials (DCT) Training: Direct-to-Participant Shipping.

About 2 minutes. Free, in your language, no account needed.

The count must still balance

Shipped, received, taken, returned, destroyed. The arithmetic is the same as at a site, and every figure now depends on somebody reporting honestly from their own home.

Ask in a way that gets the truth

"How many did you take?" invites the answer the participant thinks you want. "Let's count what's left together" gets a number.

Counting with them, on a call, is the single most effective accountability technique in decentralized conduct.

Returns are how you verify

Unused product returned is countable evidence. A study that never asks for returns is relying entirely on self-report.

Make returning easy: prepaid packaging, a clear instruction, and collection at a visit or by courier.

Non-adherence is a clinical finding, not a failure

A participant who missed six doses has given you information about tolerability, burden or understanding.

React to it as data. A participant who fears disappointing you will report perfect adherence and you will learn nothing.

Discrepancies get investigated, not adjusted

A count that does not balance is recorded as it is, then investigated. Doses in a different container, product discarded after a spill, a partial shipment.

Adjusting the number to balance is the same error as anywhere else, and it is easier to make here because nobody else counted.

Destruction needs a route and a record

Home destruction, return for destruction, or collection. Whichever the study uses, it is documented, including who confirmed it.

Watch the expiry dates in people's homes

Product sitting in a participant's cupboard expires on schedule. A participant who paused and resumed may be holding stock past its date.

Nobody is going to notice that except you.