Clinical Research CoordinatorCourse 3 of 8

Clinical Research Coordinator

Full course · Essential Records and the Trial Master File

Correspondence logs and communication tracking — Essential Records and the Trial Master File

Correspondence logs and communication tracking

Establish correspondence logs and communication tracking systems that capture the full trail between the site and sponsors, monitors, IRBs, and regulatory authorities.

20 min

The call that never happened

The sponsor calls. The principal investigator discussed a protocol deviation with the medical monitor last Tuesday -- an eligibility criterion that was misread, a participant enrolled who should not have been. The medical monitor agreed that the participant could continue in the study, and the principal investigator agreed to file a protocol deviation report. Someone also mentioned that the monitoring plan might need updating. The conversation lasted 22 minutes.

But there is no record of it. No note in the binder. No email summarizing what was discussed. No entry in any log. The coordinator was not on the call and only heard about it secondhand, two days later, in a hallway conversation. When the monitor arrives for the next visit and reviews the protocol deviation report, the monitor will ask a straightforward question: "Who authorized the participant to continue? When? On what basis?" The principal investigator will say, "I spoke with the medical monitor." And the monitor will ask, "Where is the documentation of that conversation?"

This is the problem this lesson addresses. Not the dramatic failures -- the falsified records, the fabricated data -- but the quiet, everyday erosion of the communication trail. A phone call that is not logged. An email agreement that is not printed and filed. A monitoring visit follow-up letter that sits in someone's inbox, its action items untracked and unresolved. Individually, each gap seems minor. Collectively, they make the trial's decision-making history unrecoverable.

ICH E6(R3) Appendix C, Section C.3.1(c) identifies as essential any "relevant correspondence or documentation of meetings related to important discussions and/or trial-related decisions that have been made related to the conduct of the trial and the processes being used." The Essential Records Table lists "Documentation of relevant communications and meetings" as a record that must be retained. This is not aspirational language. It is a retention requirement -- and it means that if a communication influenced a trial-related decision, there must be a record of it somewhere in the binder.

The challenge, of course, is that no one sends a flag with each communication announcing "this one matters." The coordinator must build systems that capture what needs capturing, file what needs filing, and track what needs resolving. That is what this lesson teaches.

What you will learn4 objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Establish a correspondence log that captures the communication trail between the site and sponsors, monitors, IRBs, and regulatory authorities
Design practical systems for logging emails, letters, phone calls, and monitoring visit follow-up items
File correspondence in a way that maintains chronological traceability and enables reconstruction of communication history
Track monitoring visit follow-up items from receipt through resolution with documented completion dates

Progress saves itself — finish reading and this lesson completes

This is just the beginning

The call that never happened