How Delfa helped convert self-scheduled leads into randomized participants

Recruitment for cardiovascular studies is notoriously tough. Long screening windows, strict inclusion criteria, and time-sensitive follow-ups can stretch even the best teams to their limits.

For the VP of Patient Recruitment at one of the nation's most established site networks, it was a familiar challenge. “We had strong top-of-funnel interest,” she recalls. “Patients were clicking through and even booking visits. But too many of those appointments were falling through before we could confirm eligibility.”

This was a long-running, complex cardiovascular study requiring detailed medical checks and multi-visit participation. Every missed connection meant lost time, missed targets, and wasted marketing spend.

To simplify scheduling, the team introduced a self-service calendar link, allowing interested participants to directly book their preferred appointment slots online. But even with this improvement, a critical gap remained: ensuring those booked patients were actually eligible and confirmed to attend.

The site deployed Delfa's AI voice and SMS agents to automatically reach out to every booked patient, confirm key eligibility details, and manage visit confirmations or cancellations. All without additional manual effort.

“Delfa enabled us to grow the number of participants we could engage with,” says the VP. “Ultimately, that led to more randomised participants and higher revenue.”

Within the first phase of deployment, Delfa's agents reached 66% of all leads (253 patients). An engagement rate far beyond what the team could achieve manually. Through a combination of personalised text messages and friendly follow-up calls, Delfa verified eligibility, reminded patients of upcoming visits, and automatically managed rescheduling where needed. The results spoke for themselves:

• 66% of leads reached
• 25 patients randomised, representing 7% of total leads
• Significant reduction in manual call volume and no-show rates
• Coordinators freed to focus on high-value patient care and data quality

The implementation was straightforward. Delfa connected directly to the site's CTMS and scheduling tools, requiring no new logins or training. From the moment a patient booked online, Delfa took over the heavy lifting: confirming details, following up over time, and keeping everything synced in the background.

“Before Delfa, our recruiters were juggling endless follow-ups,” the VP explains. “Now, every patient gets the right message at the right time, and our team finally has space to focus.”