By Kathy Kohler, Vice President, Customer Success at Suvoda
Snapshot
- Clinical trial sites carry the weight of disconnected systems: Separate tools for operations and payments increase administrative burden and frustration.
- Clinical trial patients feel logistical and financial strain: Travel logistics and reimbursement delays can affect retention.
- Fragmentation can slow trial delivery and strains site teams: Separate systems increase complexity and reduce operational clarity.
Recently, I was happy to have the opportunity to speak with the Society for Clinical Research Sites on their SCRS Talks podcast about the merger between Suvoda and Greenphire—and what it means for sites.
SCRS is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to representing the voice of clinical research sites. Through education, advocacy, and collaboration, they work to strengthen the site community and help sponsors and technology partners understand the operational realities sites face every day. Their perspective is grounded in the practical, not the theoretical. That’s why our conversation felt important.
In my role overseeing customer success at Suvoda, I spend much of my time listening to sponsors, to CROs, and especially to sites. The message I hear consistently is this: patients and sites are committed to the meaningful work of clinical trials, but fragmented systems create unnecessary barriers.
When technology doesn’t connect, sites do the connecting
Today, sites often operate across multiple platforms: one for randomization and trial supply, another for consent, another for eCOA, another for travel coordination, and yet another for payments and reimbursements.
Each system may function well on its own, but the challenge arises in the spaces between them. Site staff re-enter data. They reconcile visit completion with payment triggers. They answer patient questions about travel eligibility or reimbursement timelines. They track down information that lives somewhere else.
These tasks may seem small in isolation. Together, they create a significant administrative load. And that load can compete directly with patient care.
On the podcast, I shared that one of the motivations behind the Greenphire-Suvoda merger was a shared recognition that fragmentation slows trials down. It increases the risk of error. And it adds frustration for teams already under pressure.
Patients experience the same complexity
Sites can see first hand how disconnected systems impact clinical trial participants. Patients may navigate multiple apps, emails, and portals to manage appointments, complete questionnaires, arrange travel, and receive payments. Reimbursements can be delayed. Out-of-pocket costs may need to be fronted. Caregivers may struggle to coordinate logistics without clear guidance.
When patients feel that participation is overly complicated, staying enrolled in the trial can become a challenge. If we want trials to be patient-centric, we have to acknowledge that financial and logistical experiences are part of the clinical journey. These are not side considerations.
By bringing Suvoda’s operational capabilities together with Greenphire’s financial and patient support solutions on a single platform, we can create a more unified experience. Single sign-on, harmonized workflows, and a shared data layer reduce duplicate entry and manual reconciliation for sites so they are freed up to attend to the needs of patients.
In practical terms, that can look like visit completion automatically triggering payment processes. It can mean travel coordination integrated into the same environment where appointments and study tasks are managed. It can mean patients don’t need to call a site asking, “When will I be reimbursed?”
Site sustainability is a key factor in trial efficiency
Another theme that resonated in my conversation with SCRS is sustainability. Sites operate as small businesses within a complex regulatory environment. Delays in site payments, unclear budgeting processes, and manual financial reconciliation create real strain. Administrative overhead affects not only efficiency, but long-term viability. Site sustainability isn’t a ‘nice to have.’ It’s a risk variable in trial delivery today.
I’ve seen that an integrated operational and financial framework can help address this. When budgeting, payments, and protocol milestones are aligned within the same ecosystem, transparency improves. Administrative burden decreases. Sites spend less time reconciling and more time delivering care.
Listening to sites remains central
What I appreciated most about speaking with SCRS was the opportunity to champion that technology decisions must start with site input.
Both Suvoda and Greenphire have long engaged with site advisory boards, leadership forums, and advocacy groups. That commitment continues—and is strengthened—through the merger. With broader capabilities and more resources, we are in a stronger position than ever to respond to the challenges that sites raise.
Clear communication during this integration period is equally important. Sites deserve transparency around product updates, timelines, and support structures. Change should feel supported, not disruptive.
Moving toward a more connected experience
Clinical trials are not getting simpler. Protocol complexity, global footprints, and patient expectations continue to grow.
The question is whether technology evolves in a way that adds layers—or removes them.
From my perspective, the future of clinical trials is about building a calmer, more coherent experience across the moments that matter most: consent, enrollment, randomization, travel, payment, and follow-up. When those moments connect seamlessly, sites can focus more fully on patients. Patients can participate with greater clarity and confidence.
That is the opportunity we have as we bring Suvoda and Greenphire together. Not simply a merger of capabilities, but a step toward a more streamlined, site-informed future for clinical research.
Author
Kathy Kohler
Vice President,
Customer Success