Case Study: Web Portal Streamlines Business

Web Portal Streamlines Business (PDF)

Keller Schroeder’s Web development and integration services help Praxis improve efficiency, customer service and competitiveness.

Software is supposed to support an organization’s business processes, but very often the reverse is true. Commercial products and legacy applications often force end-users to alter their procedures, re-enter repetitive data and manipulate output to get the reports they need. The result is an ongoing struggle that can sap productivity and impair competitiveness.

Brentwood, Tenn.-based Praxis, which works with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to develop programs for recruiting patients for clinical research studies, had a custom application in place that did not meet its growing business needs. Keller Schroeder’s application development team not only eliminated this bottleneck but helped Praxis enhance its product offerings, streamline its operations and expand the scope of its business.

By first taking the time to fully understand Praxis’ workflow and its interactions with customers and suppliers, Keller Schroeder was able to recommend ways to help Praxis improve communication and efficiency. The result is a custom Web-based solution that automates many manual processes and provides Praxis with productivity-enhancing tools.

“Keller Schroeder is very proactive,” said Praxis Vice President Donna Beasley. “They jumped in right away and learned about our business on their own and then came back to us with automated solutions that eliminated a ton of manual labor.

“Initially, we had asked them to enhance a product we had developed in the early stages of our business, to make it fully functional for our expanding client base. They built upon that and created software solutions that would handle a lot of our calculations and analysis and eliminate manual faxing and e-mailing. It has been great.”

Unique Business Processes

After gaining an understanding of the type of patient that might participate in a particular study, Praxis develops educational and marketing materials that explain the study to the patient, as well as advertising to let people know about the study. The goal is to attract participants to the study, prequalify them, and direct the information to research sites throughout the U.S. and around the world.

“Someone who is interested can either call a toll-free number or go to the study Web site that we’ve developed to learn more about the study and answer a short questionnaire to determine if they might qualify,” said Beasley. “Information on those who appear to qualify is then delivered directly to the nearest research site in their community. The research site staff follow up to schedule a screening visit with those patients.”

The Internet has had dramatic impact on Praxis’ business. When Praxis first opened in 2002, about half of those interested in a study would call in and half would go online. Today, about 80 percent go online to prequalify. Response rates are up as well.

“A lot of the medical conditions being studied are sensitive issues that people might not want to talk about over the phone. The Internet makes it more discreet,” Beasley said. “And from our perspective it’s more efficient. We don’t have to take down the information and then fax it to the research site.”

Streamlining Operations

Keller Schroeder has created a process that streamlines the development of the Web sites associated with each study. Each study is a bit different and Keller Schroeder customizes the solution as needed to meet specific requirements.

In addition, Keller Schroeder has greatly enhanced Praxis’ Web portal, called PraxisDirect, which enables Praxis’ clients to log in and view activity related to the study. In addition to adding new functionality, Keller Schroeder worked with Praxis on an algorithm that analyzes enrollment activity and ranks various criteria. Information is available in real time, 24x7, from anywhere through secure, role-based access.

Research sites log into PraxisDirect to report the results of their screening of respondents, providing the client with a complete picture of potential participants to the study. PraxisDirect also provides the research sites with the ability to request or download marketing materials.

Keller Schroeder has also developed software that enables third-party call centers to enter pre-screening data directly into PraxisDirect rather than a separate database. This saves a step and eliminates any delay — information on individuals who call in is available to clients in real time.

“Our clients’ goal is to enroll the studies as quickly as possible for the least amount of money possible,” said Beasley. “With PraxisDirect, our clients can see if they’re on track to meet their enrollment schedule and goals, how efficiently our recruitment tactics are working for them, and how well each research site is performing.”

New Capabilities

Keller Schroeder continues to help Praxis expand its product offerings as well as identify ways to create efficiencies internally. For example, the two firms plan to enhance Praxis’ global Web sites with multi-lingual surveys. The data will come back in the native language but be compiled and reported in English.

“We have to develop the questionnaires somewhat differently for each country, so it’s a trick to map the questions and pull everything together comprehensively,” Beasley said. “This global capability will make us a leader in the industry.”

Keller Schroeder is also helping Praxis with planning and business development. Praxis has a vast amount of historical data measuring response rates, participant profiles and many other metrics. Keller Schroeder is developing software that will crunch these numbers.

“Currently we do all of these calculations manually in Excel for every new opportunity,” said Beasley. “Keller Schroeder is not only automating that but cross-referencing other data points and analyzing everything to see if any new relationships jump out. It’s saving us labor hours on the front end and enhancing the statistical data we can present to our clients.”

Many powerful software tools are available to help organizations manage such functions as accounting and customer relationship management. However, unique business processes need unique solutions to maximize the value of automation. Keller Schroeder can help organizations like Praxis analyze business processes and develop creative solutions to increase efficiency and competitiveness. Whether the goal is to enhance an existing application, Web-enable software and data, or create code from scratch, Keller Schroeder has the skills and experience to do the job right.

“Keller Schroeder is a vital part of our operations,” said Beasley. “They have great ideas and do quality work, providing us with the software tools we need to be successful.”