As the year winds down, many clinical operations teams take a deep breath and a hard look at the numbers: Enrollment targets. Screen-fail rates. Site performance. For too many studies, those dashboards tell the same story: timelines slipping, budgets tightening, and patient recruitment falling short of expectations.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. The fourth quarter is when sponsors and CROs often realize they’re facing an enrollment gap that can’t be closed with the same tactics they started the year with. But it’s also when the most proactive teams pivot to rethink their recruitment strategy, realign resources, and engage in supplemental study support—often referred to as a clinical trial rescue.
A rescue doesn’t mean starting over. It’s a supplemental approach designed to stabilize what’s already working and add new support where needed. It means partnering with a team that can find qualified patients quickly, pre-screen effectively, and keep them engaged all the way through randomization.
Recognizing when it’s time for a study rescue
By Q4, the warning signs are hard to ignore. Sites are overburdened, referral flow has slowed, or inclusion criteria are tighter than anticipated. In many cases, patient volume isn’t the issue, but conversion is where the problems arise. Patients often express interest but stall before screening or drop off before consent.
For mental health, oncology, and rare disease trials, the challenge is even steeper. Stigma, complex protocols, and competing life demands make every enrollment hard earned.
Whether you need to activate new sites, refresh creative messaging, expand outreach channels or supplement existing enrollment efforts, the right late-year rescue study strategy can change the trajectory of your trial.
Why quick thinking matters
The end of the year is a chance to regain momentum. Sponsors who act quickly in Q4 can recover lost time, boost site morale, and set a stronger foundation for the coming year.
Supplemental study support can close enrollment gaps and deliver critical data faster, often before Q1 even begins.
Proven clinical trial rescue experts
At SubjectWell, nearly 60% of the studies we support are rescue efforts or supplemental efforts—evidence that we excel especially when timelines are tight and pressure is high.
Our Patient Experience Platform (PxP) combines creative, reach, services, science, and technology to deliver targeted outreach, patient-first communication, and site-friendly workflows to help studies recover faster.
Because what most rescue studies need isn’t “more volume,” but smarter ways to quickly connect with the right patients.
Creative strategy that drives rescue success
When studies stall, SubjectWell’s Creative team transforms friction into momentum. We turn data and patient insights into clear, compelling stories that re-ignite engagement.
By diagnosing barriers such as confusing language, unclear value, and low emotional resonance, we reframe messaging into something simple, human, and motivating. Updated digital ads, landing pages, and outreach convert interest into action without inflating spend.
Through empathetic storytelling and transparent education, we reach patients who previously disengaged and inspire them to take the next step.
SubjectWell rescue study statistics
Global reach for faster, more diverse enrollment
When timelines are tight and enrollment lags, scale matters. SubjectWell’s global reach provides instant access to millions of patients across 100+ countries and 600+ indications, helping sponsors and CROs turn stalled studies into success stories.
Our Patient Network, digital search and social capabilities, media affiliates, and healthcare partnerships enable outreach to individuals actively seeking clinical trial opportunities. And because our reach is global, we can pivot quickly to target specific regions, languages, or patient populations to fill gaps without restarting recruitment.
Whether you need more diversity, new geographic coverage, or increased volume, we deliver qualified referrals efficiently to help get your study back on schedule.
The science behind every rescue
When clinical trial enrollment slows, the fastest way forward is understanding why. SubjectWell’s data science identifies the underlying drivers of stalled recruitment and maps actionable solutions.
Our peer-reviewed research, patient and site burden indices, and standard-of-care data pinpoint where studies drift from real-world experience, whether it’s too many visits, overly complex screening, or messaging that misses what matters most to patients.
Every insight powers refinement: sharper outreach, clearer expectations, smarter engagement. The result is faster recruitment, stronger retention, and studies that get back on track when it matters most.
The human element behind every rescue
A successful rescue depends on human connection. SubjectWell’s Services brings structure, empathy, and speed to patients and sites when urgency is highest.
Rescue success starts with sites. SubjectWell’s Site Companions work directly with coordinators and staff to remove obstacles, manage referrals, and streamline communication.
Our Patient Companions are trained, in-country specialists fluent in 20+ languages who re-engage participants, answer questions, and coordinate scheduling with consistency and compassion. Dedicated Secondary Screening processes add an extra layer of precision, verifying eligibility and confirming motivation before patients ever reach the site.
With patient-first communication, site-centered support, and built-in quality controls, SubjectWell supports supplemental study needs, rescues stalled trials, and rebuilds confidence at the site level.
OneView: clinical trial technology that drives rescue results
Technology is the backbone of every successful rescue. OneView, SubjectWell’s clinical trial matching portal, integrates and accelerates every step of the patient journey
Whether powering the backend of your existing trial-matching website or serving as a centralized platform across all studies, OneView streamlines outreach, referral management, and follow-up into a single, unified system.
With real-time dashboards, sponsors and CROs gain instant visibility into referral flow, site performance, and patient engagement. Automated workflows manage reminders, eligibility checks, and data validation to reduce administrative burden and improve accuracy.
Purpose built for global deployment, OneView supports multilingual outreach, HIPAA and GDPR compliance, and easy adoption at any site so your team can focus on enrolling, not troubleshooting.
Transform slow starts into fast finishes
The turning point begins when you realize your study can benefit from supplemental support. Whether your study needs a smarter enrollment strategy or more coordinated support, SubjectWell has the experience, reach, and scientific insight to deliver results quickly and efficiently.
By bringing together creative, reach, services, science, and technology, our Patient Experience Platform reignites momentum when it matters most.
Because rescuing a study isn’t just about recovering timelines, but about restoring confidence, rebuilding trust, and proving what’s possible when the right patients, sites, and data come together.
Learn more by reading about the results of a successful SubjectWell rescue study:
