Case study · NexaSource™
Front Range Clinical Research (FCRC)
From paper source to digital eSource in Denver — without a steep learning curve.
Overview
Front Range Clinical Research (FCRC) is a community-based site in Denver, Colorado, running studies across metabolic, immunology, and general medicine protocols. For years the site relied on paper source documents, binders, and coordinator-maintained spreadsheets — a workflow that worked until sponsor timelines tightened and monitor expectations for contemporaneous, legible source increased.
FCRC chose NexaSource™ as its eSource platform rather than adopting a complex enterprise system that would have required lengthy vendor onboarding and IT overhead.
With Nexa Trials supporting form build, validation rules, and go-live readiness, FCRC moved its first study onto NexaSource in four weeks. The second study launched in 2.5 weeks, with coordinators productive after just two days of hands-on training.
The challenge
Paper source was slowing the site down
Before NexaSource, FCRC coordinators faced familiar paper-site pain points:
- Printed CRF packets and handwritten corrections that monitors flagged during visits
- Hours spent re-filing, scanning, and chasing missing pages before database lock
- No single view of subject progress across visits and studies
- Fear that “going digital— would mean weeks of classroom training and rigid templates
The site director needed an eSource path that coordinators would actually adopt — intuitive at the visit, fast to configure per protocol, and live on sponsor timelines without pausing enrollment.
The NexaSource solution
Purpose-built eSource that fits how coordinators already work
Nexa Trials deployed NexaSource with FCRC’s first protocol mapped end to end:
- Streamlined form creation — visit structures, inclusion/exclusion blocks, vitals grids, and AE/CM logs built to match the protocol CRF, not a generic template
- Coordinator-first UI — clear visit navigation, large touch-friendly fields, and status cues so staff knew what was complete before the patient left
- Built-in edit checks — range and required-field validation at the point of entry, reducing downstream queries
- Reusable study patterns — common sections saved as blocks so the second protocol required far less net-new build time
Key implementation steps:
- Protocol intake & form design — Nexa Trials translated the sponsor CRF into NexaSource forms with FCRC’s site-specific workflows.
- UAT on real visit flows — coordinators walked screening and treatment visits on tablets before go-live.
- Two-day training — one day on navigation and data entry; one day on queries, corrections, and monitor-ready exports. No multi-week certification program.
- Go-live support — Nexa Trials stayed on call through the first enrolled subjects to resolve edge cases quickly.
Implementation
First study: 4 weeks · Second study: 2.5 weeks
- Study 1 (weeks 1—2): Protocol mapping, NexaSource form build, and edit-check configuration
- Study 1 (week 3): Coordinator UAT, two-day training, and monitor walkthrough
- Study 1 (week 4): Production go-live with first subjects on digital source
- Study 2 (2.5 weeks): Reused visit templates and validation patterns; accelerated build and single-day refresher training
FCRC did not replace its EDC or sponsor systems — NexaSource became the site’s source of truth at the visit, with structured exports ready for downstream entry where required.
Results
Faster startup, confident coordinators
After moving to NexaSource:
- 4 weeks from kickoff to live eSource on the first study
- 2.5 weeks to launch the second study using reusable form blocks
- 2 days of training before coordinators were entering live visit data independently
- Paper binders retired for both live studies — monitors reviewed source on tablet during the first post-go-live visit
- Fewer source findings on early monitoring visits compared to the site’s prior paper studies
- Coordinators reported less end-of-day catch-up because forms were complete before subjects left the clinic
Coordinator feedback
“We were nervous about learning another system. After two days on NexaSource, I was entering screening visits on my own. It feels like the forms were built for how we actually run patients through the clinic.”
Site leadership feedback
“Our second study went live in under three weeks because we weren’t starting from scratch. NexaSource let us move off paper without hiring a full-time eSource administrator.”
Conclusion
FCRC’s move from paper to NexaSource shows that smaller U.S. sites can modernize source capture without enterprise complexity. With intuitive form design, a coordinator-friendly interface, and a repeatable build process, the Denver site:
- Went live on digital source in four weeks on study one
- Cut startup to 2.5 weeks on study two
- Trained staff in two days and kept enrollment moving
- Built a foundation for every new protocol on NexaSource™
FCRC is now onboarding additional sponsors onto NexaSource and pairing the platform with NexaScheduler™ for visit-window tracking across active trials.
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