Site Payments and Patient Reimbursement: Who Carries the Cost? | Digital Health Off the Record

Clinical trials cannot run without research sites and participants. Yet both can end up carrying significant costs while waiting to be reimbursed. In this episode of Digital Health Off the Record, Edwin and Farrell explore the often-overlooked realities of payments in clinical trials. From site budgets that fail to capture the true workload to patient expenses that can become barriers to participation, they discuss why getting payments right is essential for sustainable and accessible research. Building on previous conversations about site burden, patient-centred trial design and fragmented technology, they also consider whether digital payment tools are genuinely simplifying the process or creating another system for sites to manage. In this episode, we cover: Why timely and fair site payments matter - 00:51 The hidden work that trial budgets can overlook - 03:02 Payment delays and their impact on site cash flow - 14:37 Patient reimbursement and barriers to participation - 19:12 Technology, ethics and planning for long-term costs - 23:58