For the first time, Territorians living in remote locations will be able to take part in cutting-edge clinical trials closer to home, with the launch of the Australian Teletrial Program (ATP) in the Northern Territory (NT).
The ATP is supported by funding from the Australian Government under a $75.2 million grant from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). Over a five year period, the program will bring clinical trials closer to home for patients in Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the NT. NT Health and the Territory Government is a national partner in the program and has secured a $5 million share of the MRFF grant for local implementation.
The program will mean people living in the Territory who are eligible for a clinical trial will be able to better access medical treatments, drugs, therapies and devices.
Teletrials is a proven model which connects remote clinical trial site clusters with a primary trial site. The primary site supports satellite sites to build local research capacity and capabilities to help improve equitable access to clinical trials.
In the NT, the program will link patients living in regional and remote locations with urban-based and interstate research programs and trial treatments. This will bring potentially life-saving care closer to home for all Territorians.
There are many medical staff and researchers involved in a teletrial, representing multiple hospitals in different locations. They use digital communication, such as video conferencing, to closely communicate with each other and work as one team.
Teletrial patients will have some of their treatment at their local hospital or health centre, with supervision and support provided by the primary site. Depending on the complexity of the teletrial, patients may need to travel to one of the other hospitals involved for things such as speciality scans or blood tests.
To implement the ATP across the Territory, a multidisciplinary team was established. To date the team has activated three clinical trials under the program, including:
