FARSITE (Feasibility Assessment and Recruitment System for Improving Trial Efficiency) is a clinical trial feasibility and patient recruitment platform developed by NWEH. It provides unique access to rich, de-identified Electronic Health Records (EHRs) with rapid search capabilities, helping sponsors and researchers streamline recruitment optimise protocol design and accelerate trial timelines and study delivery.  

FARSITE can instantly search over 20 million de-identified Electronic Health Records EHRs across the UK, helping sponsors, CROs and researchers confirm trial feasibility in minutes rather than weeks. This gives clinical researchers an accurate, real-world picture of how many eligible patients exist for a given study from the outset.  

FARSITE improves clinical trial recruitment by identifying eligible participants directly from de-identified Electronic Health Records (EHR), reducing reliance on manual recruitment methods. Sponsors and Researchers can refine inclusion and exclusion criteria using real-world population data, helping identify recruitment risks early and optimise protocol design. FARSITE enables protocol design to be refined in minutes using real-time insights, and helps to identify potential recruitment challenges early, ensuring trials are cost-effective, time-efficient and outcome-driven.  

Since its launch in 2009, the platform has recruited over 20,000 participants to clinical trials in the UK, improving the speed and efficiency of clinical research. FARSITE automates patient recruitment and manages consent processes, reducing the burden on clinical staff.  

Yes. FARSITE is designed to work with NHS Electronic Health Records and provides a secure, governance-led approach to supporting clinical research within primary care settings. It provides a safe, convenient and anonymised way for GPs to involve their patients in NHS research. All patient data used for feasibility searches is de-identified to protect privacy and confidentiality at every stage. 

FARSITE enables targeted recruitment strategies that improve participant diversity, ensuring true-to-life™, representative clinical trials. Inclusivity is built into protocol design from the start by identifying participants using key demographics, clinical history and deprivation scores.  

By leveraging anonymised electronic health records, FARSITE casts a broad recruitment funnel, helping ensure trials are more inclusive and representative, which is vital for generating reliable, real-world data. 

FARSITE helps researchers identify underserved and underrepresented populations, supporting more equitable recruitment and improving the representativeness of clinical trial populations. 

Traditional recruitment methods rely on clinical staff manually estimating how many eligible patients they might see, a process that is often inaccurate and time-consuming.  

FARSITE is one of the most user-friendly software platforms available for searching complex NHS data to find patients eligible to be invited into clinical studies. It eliminates traditional recruitment barriers, confirming feasibility in minutes rather than weeks. 

FARSITE enables sponsors and researchers to validate recruitment assumptions using real-world NHS data before site activation, reducing uncertainty and helping avoid costly recruitment delays. 

Clinical trial feasibility is the process of determining whether a study can successfully recruit enough eligible participants within the required timelines and locations. FARSITE uses real-world NHS Electronic Health Record (EHR) data to rapidly assess feasibility and provide accurate estimates of eligible patient populations. 

FARSITE supports decentralised and pragmatic clinical trials by enabling researchers to identify and recruit participants directly through real-world healthcare settings, including primary care. This helps studies reflect routine clinical practice while reducing burden on participants and sites. 

De-identified Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are patient healthcare records that have had identifying information removed or protected to preserve privacy. FARSITE uses de-identified NHS data for feasibility assessments and participant identification while operating within strict governance and privacy frameworks. 

Yes. Recruitment delays are one of the most common reasons for clinical trial overruns. FARSITE helps reduce this risk by rapidly identifying eligible patient populations using real-world NHS data, allowing researchers to validate recruitment assumptions before studies begin. 

FARSITE supports a wide range of clinical research including interventional trials, observational studies, real-world evidence studies, decentralised trials and pragmatic clinical research. The platform is particularly valuable for studies requiring rapid feasibility assessment and large-scale participant recruitment. 

• Rapid clinical trial feasibility assessment using real-world data  

• Secure access to over 20 million de-identified Electronic Health Records (EHRs)  

• Accelerated patient recruitment for clinical research studies  

• Real-world population insights to optimise protocol design  

• Identification of eligible participants in minutes rather than weeks  

• Support for decentralised and pragmatic clinical trials  

• Recruitment through primary care and GP research networks  

• Diversity-focused recruitment using demographic and deprivation data  

• Secure, governance-led access to anonymised healthcare data  

• Automated participant identification and recruitment workflows  

• Support for observational studies and real-world evidence research  

• NHS-compatible infrastructure and data governance processes  

• Reduced recruitment risk through real-world feasibility validation  

• Scalable recruitment support across large patient populations  

• Improved study planning through real-world population analytics