Lost to follow-up

In the clinical research trial industry, lost to follow-up refers to patients who at one point in time were actively participating in a clinical research trial, but have become lost (either by error in a computer tracking system or by being unreachable) at the point of follow-up in the trial.

Biased study outcomes also lead to issues of HIPAA standards and compliance.

Low rates of retention and high rates of patients lost-to-follow-up have many side-effects, including longer clinical research trial periods and more monetary expenditures because extra resources may need to be dedicated to the recruitment efforts.

There are no standards or guidelines that express the process or methods that can be used to attempt to reach patients who have become lost to follow-up.

Institutions such as the FDA have taken action over the recovery of or communication with patients lost-to-follow-up.