Siebel Clinical Trial Management System Guide > Setting Up and Making Clinical Payments >

Scenario for Clinical Payments

This topic gives one example of how clinical payments might be used. You might use payments differently, depending on your business model.

Using on the input from the clinical contract or grant negotiations group, the financial administrator sets up the standard payment amounts for procedures and tasks that the site performs. A major pain-point for clinical organizations is managing investigator payments. Often investigators are paid for activities that they have not carried out, or for activities that they have carried out but that are not to the satisfaction of the sponsor. By specifying a withholding amount and a withholding percentage, it is possible to withhold payments from an investigator to make sure that all activities are carried out. This guarantees that investigators are motivated to carry out all activities so that they get paid in full.

The CRAs (clinical research associates) set up the payment exceptions for sites where different payments have been negotiated for subject activities. (In some organizations, this task is done by study manager instead of the CRA.)

As the sites carry out the procedures, the financial administrator verifies successful completion of the procedures and tasks and generates payments for these activities. A payment (minus the withholding amount or percentage) is generated when an activity is completed. If all activities for a site are completed, then the investigator is paid the full amount for all activities including the amount or percentage withheld.

Occasionally, the sponsor or CRO (clinical research organization) must make an additional payment to a site, a payment which is not directly associated with subject activities. These are unplanned payments, for example, reimbursement for an unscheduled visit.

NOTE:  As the clinical trial progresses, the sites carry out the subject activities for which they are paid. Typically, site personnel at the sites enter completed dates for subject activities using Siebel Site Portal. For more information about Siebel Site Portal, see Siebel Life Sciences Portals Guide.