Investigational Insights: Elevating IDS Practice Through Continuing Education

The demand for high-quality, relevant continuing education in the field of Research  Pharmacy and Investigational Drug Services (IDS) has never been greater. With a changing research landscape, advancements in technology, and complex therapeutics, IDS practice has evolved and requires, more than ever, focused knowledge and community connection to advocate and promote best practices. 

Investigational Insights is a new ACPE-accredited webinar series developed in collaboration between McCreadie Group and the Society of Research Clinicians, designed to empower IDS professionals with practical strategies, peer connection, and forward-thinking solutions. Whether you’re a seasoned pharmacist or a technician new to clinical trials, this series offers a valuable opportunity to deepen your expertise and stay ahead of evolving research practices.

Each session is crafted to:

• Deliver targeted, actionable education on IDS operations
• Provide clinical practice knowledge and foster best practice alignment
• Examine current topics, novel therapeutics, challenges, and solutions IDS practice
• Highlight technology-driven process improvements
• Foster community and collaboration among research pharmacy professionals

Upcoming Session: Digitally Driven – Optimizing IDS Workflows Through Automation and Standardization

IDS professionals are the backbone of clinical research operations, yet many still face outdated, manual workflows that hinder efficiency and accuracy. Digitally Driven addresses this by spotlighting innovation and digital tools that can transform how investigational operations are managed.

The premier session, launching August 14, 2025, will feature two separate digital improvement initiatives. In “From Requests to Results – Using REDCap to automate intake and communication workflows,” Dr. Ee Vonn Yong, IDS Manager at Stanford Health, will address the study in-take, start-up, and tracking process with automated surveys.

Recently, IDS pharmacies have started to implement electronic project management software programs to streamline and standardize protocol work, provide oversight and interdepartmental collaboration in study protocol management. This shift helps to merge fragmented information from manual processes allowing for improved workflows and advanced practices.

 “From Requests to Results” will showcase the optimization of workflows were optimized by viewing processes as interconnected systems, standardizing data collection with REDCap surveys, and reducing variation through branching logic and automated alerts. This approach improved workflow visibility, data quality, and consistency across research teams.

In the second section, Dr. Obehi Enabulele, IDS Pharmacist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, will showcase a parallel initiative connecting interdisciplinary teams and improving communication with technology in “Form to Table – Replacing Word-based drug build documents with structured Excel-based forms.”  As the use of electronic medical records, and CPOE are best practice standard for research medications, tackling the build and maintenance of complex regimens with order sets and treatment plans poses a new challenge and important responsibility of the IDS team. This session will highlight the use of an Excel-based Build Investigational Drug document with pre-populated dropdowns, validation, and automation to streamline drug record creation. Cross-functional collaboration between pharmacists and clinical application services analysts ensured usability and sustainability, improving efficiency and reducing errors.

Attendees will walk away with strategies to reduce errors, improve documentation, and streamline protocol management using technology — plus inspiration to bring these ideas back to their own institutions.

What’s Next?

The series will continue with future sessions on topics like cellular and gene therapy, interdisciplinary collaboration, and regulatory readiness.

The second session of Investigational Insights, scheduled for November 18, 2025, will focus on barcoding in IDS practice, and provide dual-site experiences with speakers from two unique institutions.

For additional information and to join in the experience, please visit: www.mccreadiegroup.com/investigationalinsights

References

Hill C, Froerer C. Integration of electronic project management software in an investigational drug service pharmacy within an academic medical center. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2024 Sep 23;81(19):e627-e633. doi: 10.1093/ajhp/zxae093. PMID: 38557858.

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