Why Are So Many Referrals Lost Before Screening Really Begins?
Francheska Capistrano
Clinical trial referrals don’t usually fail because patients aren’t interested. They fail because too many patients are pushed downstream before they’re truly qualified, informed, and ready for the next step. That creates a familiar pattern across studies: high referral volume, low referral quality, overloaded site teams, delayed enrollment, and preventable screening waste that gets blamed on recruitment alone. A recent 2025 oncology study helps frame the issue clearly. Across three cancer cente