Patients who become<unk>  during a clinical research trial result in many negative effects on the outcome of the trial and on the pharmaceutical company sponsoring the clinical research trial. Patients who are<unk> -to-follow-up lead to incomplete study results, which in turn can put a bias on the result of the study as well as a bias on the investigational study medication. A lack of complete results leads to intensified FDA scrutiny of the particular study drug, as well as the pharmaceutical company sponsoring the clinical research study. Biased study outcomes also lead to issues of HIPAA standards and compliance. Aside from partial study data and regulatory issues, patients that are not retained due to being<unk> -to-follow-up can lead to problems with the progression of any clinical research study. Low rates of retention and high rates of patient’s<unk> -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.
Lost to follow-up
Serious adverse event
Terminal illness
Natural history of disease
Risk factor
Adverse event
Unwarranted variation
Immune-related response criteria