Katri Langel, Senior Business Development and Customer Success Manager.
My First Fax Machine: Where It All Began
I started my journey in eClinical over 20 years ago, working at one of the early ePRO pioneers. One of my first tasks was handling data change requests (DCRs)—entering them into a system, waiting for the changes, QA, then printing the forms, signing them, and faxing them back to the sites.
I had never used a fax machine before, and I remember thinking: Surely, there must be a better way.
A few years later, I worked on closing a large Phase 3 study with thousands of patients. We had to hire a team just to print and file electronic records so they could be physically shipped to sites. Box after box of paper. It felt absurd then, and it feels even more absurd now.
Clinical Trials: Stuck Between Innovation and Tradition
Fast forward two decades, and eClinical is still competing with paper. Fax has been rebranded as eFax. BYOD adoption, decentralized trials, and eConsent have made progress, yet I still hear debates about whether older patients can use mobile phones in trials. COVID-19 seemed to accelerate change, but once the urgency faded, so did much of the momentum.
With all the technology available today, clinical research should be simpler. Instead, it has become even more complex. Data silos, legacy processes, and regulatory hesitations continue to slow us down. The reality is that this isn’t just a technology problem—it’s a people and process problem.
A Personal Reality Check: Healthcare’s Broken Workflows
A personal moment that reinforced this for me happened just a year ago. I needed bloodwork done at a well-known international clinic. They had a fantastic app for booking appointments and managing prescriptions. But when I arrived, the doctor entered my test order into his computer, printed it out, and handed it to me. I waited in another room, where a nurse took the paper, manually re-entered the order into her system, and printed another paper.
I left shaking my head. If healthcare still operates like this in 2020-something, no wonder clinical trials struggle with inefficiencies.
Why I Chose Replior
It was around this time that I came across Replior. After years of consulting, I had become selective about the companies I wanted to engage with. Replior stood out—not just for its strong technology but for its honest and transparent approach. A small company with a big product. Agile, adaptable, and focused on solving real problems.
One of the things that intrigued me most was their gamified ePRO approach. But even then, I heard the same old concerns: Will older populations really use this? What we have seen in practice, however, is that older patients are often the most engaged when using apps for clinical trials. They see the value, they follow instructions carefully, and they appreciate the convenience.
Looking Ahead: Making Trials Work for Patients
AI and automation are making their mark on the industry, and I’m excited to see where things go next. But to me, the real opportunity lies in integrating clinical trials more seamlessly into standard care. As a mother of a now-adult child with multiple autoimmune diseases, I know firsthand how much patients would benefit from smarter, more accessible trials.
We owe it to patients to do better. We owe it to ourselves. Clinical research can—and should—finally catch up with the world around it.
Katri Langel
Senior Business Development and Customer Success Manager.
Katri Langel
Senior Business Development and Customer Success Manager.
Katri has extensive international experience in clinical trials, specializing in eCOA, RWE, and Decentralized Trials across the US and Europe. She thrives on innovation, tackling challenges, and driving forward-thinking solutions.
