The SCRS Payment Initiative comprises of clinical research industry leaders committed to addressing financial burdens for research sites and study participants.
The goals of the program aim to mitigate various financial challenges within clinical research such as holdback payments, tax on participant reimbursements, and delayed payment frequencies, among other objectives. Additional objectives regarding site and participant payments will be further addressed.
Explore resources for industry partners to address current site and trial participant payment challenges.
Workstreams
Site Payments: Recruitment
Site recruitment costs are consistently underfunded. Investing in site recruitment efforts – including pre-screening, screen failures and outreach campaigns – is essential for enabling sites to enroll qualified participants faster and engage diverse populations.
Site Payments: Startup
Study startup funding enables research sites to cover the initial costs of setting up a trial, such as obtaining regulatory approvals, hiring and training staff, and preparing necessary equipment and infrastructure. Without adequate funding, sites struggle to meet trial timelines, ensure quality, or recruit participants efficiently, which delays or jeopardizes trial success.
Participant Payments: Consistency
Fair payments for participants are needed to ensure that trials are accessible for all individuals, regardless of their financial situation. These payments should compensate for their time, transportation and other potential costs such as childcare. Fair payment and reimbursement values are needed across the industry.
Site Payments: Withholding
Holdback payments are funds that have been “held back” from sites after that work has been completed within the trial. The Withholding workstream creates awareness of the prevalence of these types of payments and advocates for 0% holdback payments among sponsors and CROs.
Site Payments: Monthly
Monthly payments enable greater financial security and predictability for sites. The Site Payments workstream advocates for monthly payments to match site expenditures which include staff salaries, rent, participant payments, and operational costs.
Participant Payments: Taxation
Clinical study participants are taxed on payments exceeding a certain amount. Including these payments as part of taxable income often deters trial participation, especially among underrepresented populations. The Participant Payments workstream aims to eliminate this taxation to increase participation from diverse communities.
Toolkits
White Papers
