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New way to run clinical trials within General Practice reaches 1,000 NHS patients recruited

Trial platform now active in over 400 NHS sites, supporting GPs and their teams to recruit patients for clinical research that can advance public health.

20 November 2024
Close up of a GP sat at a desk during a consultation

DaRe2THINK, an innovative approach to deliver remote clinical trials within NHS Primary Care, has reached a major milestone of more than 1,000 patients recruited.

The trial platform is now active in over 400 NHS sites, supporting General Practitioners and their teams to recruit patients for clinical research that can advance public health.

A collaboration between the University of Birmingham, NHS providers and the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, DaRe2THINK has successfully implemented a new way to run large-scale trials and to support research in NHS Primary Care. The trial is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and supported by the NIHR Research Delivery Network across England.

We are really proud to be supporting our fantastic colleagues in NHS General Practices across England, giving NHS staff and patients a much easier opportunity to get involved in health research.

Professor Dipak Kotecha, lead for DaRe2THINK

Dipak Kotecha, Professor of Cardiology at the University of Birmingham, NHS Consultant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, theme lead of the Thrombo-Inflammation research theme in the NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre and lead for DaRe2THINK, said:

"Running NHS research in our local communities has a huge potential to improve the health and wellbeing of citizens and society. We are really proud to be supporting our fantastic colleagues in NHS General Practices across England, giving NHS staff and patients a much easier opportunity to get involved in health research."

1.3 million patients

Designed to open up the benefits of research for NHS staff and patients, DaRe2THINK is able to securely screen routine health records for over 13 million NHS patients.

The focus of DaRe2THINK is to demonstrate if strokes, blood clots and vascular dementia can be prevented in patients with a common heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation.

Recent innovations of this efficient, data-enabled approach have led to a ‘number needed to invite’ of 5.3 – this means that only five patients need to be invited by their Primary Care team for one patient to be randomised, far surpassing other recent developments in clinical trials.

Supported by a Patient & Public Engagement team, DaRe2THINK has been designed to transform the way trials can be conducted within the NHS. This will open up participation to a wider range of citizens and contribute to the UK’s life science strategy to improve health, wellbeing and economic growth.

Dame Julie Moore DBE, Chair of Health Data Research UK, said: “DaRe2THINK is a new way of undertaking research to improve public health by working with GPs. Through screening of comprehensive health records of patients in the NHS, DaRe2THINK is able to identify patients to recruit to trials to improve their health, and the wider health of the nation.”

Notes for editors

  • For media enquiries please contact Tim Mayo, Press Office, University of Birmingham, tel: +44 (0)7815 607 157.
  • The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, educators and more than 40,000 students from over 150 countries.
  • England’s first civic university, the University of Birmingham is proud to be rooted in of one of the most dynamic and diverse cities in the country. A member of the Russell Group and a founding member of the Universitas 21 global network of research universities, the University of Birmingham has been changing the way the world works for more than a century.
  • The University of Birmingham is a founding member of Birmingham Health Partners (BHP), a strategic alliance which transcends organisational boundaries to rapidly translate healthcare research findings into new diagnostics, drugs and devices for patients. Birmingham Health Partners is a strategic alliance between seven organisations who collaborate to bring healthcare innovations through to clinical application:
    • University of Birmingham
    • University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
    • Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
    • Aston University
    • The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
    • Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
    • West Midlands Academic Health Science Network
    • Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
  • The DaRe2THINK trial is sponsored by the University of Birmingham, and run in partnership with the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (part of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency [MHRA]), and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network West Midlands, along with other national collaborators. DaRe2THINK is funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme. Further information on how the trial securely uses NHS data can be found here.
  • The Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) is a real-world research service supporting public health and clinical studies. CPRD research data services are delivered by the MHRA with support from the NIHR, as part of the UK Department of Health and Social Care.
  • The MHRA is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe. All our work is underpinned by robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits justify any risks.
  • DaRe2THINK is designed and managed by NHS clinicians, led by Professor Dipak Kotecha (Cardiologist) and Dr David Shukla (GP). We actively encourage all types of NHS staff to engage in an inclusive research culture, as laid out in the NHS People Plan.
  • Atrial fibrillation is a common heart rhythm disorder that leads to poor patient quality of life and a high cost to healthcare systems. Patients are more likely to die, have a stroke or develop a major blood clot, and have a higher risk of developing vascular dementia, as shown in a recent article by the DaRe2THINK team using primary care NHS data.
  • The DaRe2THINK team will be hosting an online webinar and learning opportunity for general practice staff titled “ESC Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines 2024: Practical Insights for Primary Care” with Professor Dipak Kotecha, Professor of Cardiology at the University of Birmingham and Chair of the guideline committee.

Featured staff

  • Professor Dipak Kotecha

    Professor of Cardiology & Cardiac Imaging

    Staff profile for Professor Dipak Kotecha, Professor of Cardiology, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Birmingham.

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