The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it is making available a free app to facilitate the obtaining of informed consent in situations where face-to-face consent processes are not practical. The app, now called COVID MyStudies, is designed to address situations where a potential participant with COVID-19 may be in an isolation room, or study staff cannot travel to the clinic location to meet directly with a patient, due to the risk of contagion. A recent FDA news release contains more details about the app and what it can do.
Please note the UAMS IRB is not able to answer specific questions about how the app works, as it is not our product. We can, however, review proposed informed consent processes that include mention of this app, or other methods of obtaining informed consent when face-to-face contact is impossible.