These were the top two obstacles to adopting electronic data capture (EDC) solutions from third-parties identified in an international survey of 100 CRO and pharmaceutical executives.

In addition, 85 per cent of those surveyed, reported that to implement and use EDC software typically takes four weeks or more, said the report, commissioned by eclinical provider TrialStat Corporation.

"More than half of surveyed executives say that cost and integration remain obstacles to EDC adoption," said Jonathan Barker, president and CEO of TrialStat.

"These reasons point to a need to simplify EDC solutions to ensure that they can deliver a rapid and compelling return on investment."

Survey participants also listed a number of key features that they would like to see added to EDC solutions in the future, including client configurable forms, integrated web and mobile data capture, and harmonisation with data exchange standards.

Meanwhile, as the clinical trials industry begins to see an exponential growth in the penetration of such technology, other adoption challenges still remain, such as organisational and role changes within the companies who adopt the software on a large scale.

This picture is reflected in the TrialStat survey, with only 38 per cent of respondents citing improved data quality and reduced data entry errors as the main benefit of using EDC, while only 33 per cent claimed that EDC reduced the time required for data collection.