A guide to successfully recruiting patients for cardiovascular clinical trials.

To maximize enrollment in clinical trials, an efficient mechanism for screening and recruitment is needed. A national referral center for the treatment of heart disease developed a mechanism to maximize patient enrollment in more than 20 clinical trials simultaneously with a cardiac catheterization laboratory. It consists of four primary components: preparation, screening and recruitment, evaluation and problem-solving, and communication. This paper describes these components and presents information that may be useful in the recruitment of patients for clinical trials. It also provides tools that can be adapted and used to screen patients for trial eligibility.