FARSITE: evaluation of an automated trial feasibility assessment and recruitment tool.

Objectives In a review of UK-supported clinical trials more than half of the investigators asked the funding agency for an extension and a third did not hit their recruitment targets [1]. Study feasibility is often assessed on an ad hoc basis by asking clinical staff to estimate how many patients with particular characteristics they might expect to see in a given time period, and over-estimation is common. We have developed FARSITE (Feasibility Assessment and Recruitment System for Improving Trial Efficiency), a system to support the evaluation of trial feasibility by providing accurate assessments of numbers of patients eligible for a particular trial. Furthermore FARSITE automates patient recruitment whilst preserving consent for consent.