UK Health Research Authority: Modernizing to quickly bring health research to the public

“We have started the journey with Pega to deploy more efficient processes to help researchers bring their knowledge to the public faster. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of streamlined systems to support health research in the UK.”

The Business Issue

In the U.K., the Health Research Authority (HRA) reviews applications for health research, with the goal of protecting and promoting the interests of patients and the public and supporting high quality research that improves health and well-being.

With multiple application routes and manual processes, the application and review process could be complex and time-consuming for applicants, burdensome for HRA employees, and expensive to run. The HRA needed to streamline its business processes and create a simpler pathway to application review and approval – a need that became much more obvious as researchers pursued treatments and vaccines for COVID-19.

The Solution

The HRA leveraged the Pega Government Platform™ to support a single application route and a coordinated ethics and regulatory review for clinical trials. Previously, applicants had to apply separately to multiple regulators. With the new system, applicants apply once and receive a single U.K. approval.

The HRA wanted to be able to iterate and add new functionality incrementally, while also keeping aspects of its legacy system in place. At the same time, the HRA needed to be able to deliver quickly and make changes easily to accommodate variations in regulation, government policy, and process. Pega was able to meet the complexity of that challenge.

The Results

• Streamlined clinical trial application process to a single path, supporting the shortened application and approval process from an average of 91 days to 54 days
• Added online, 24/7 booking of study review appointments
• Added functionality for online submission of amendments to legacy applications
• Plans to extend functionality to all application types, an average of 5,000 – 6,000 per year
• Poised for agile adaptation to any potential post-EU transition regulatory changes
• Plan to leverage Pega to transform other research applications and business processes

All text sourced directly from Governments Building for Change.

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