Terms

Last updated 7 September 2026

These cover two different things: the phone and text line that participants call, and the service a research site buys. Two different readers, so they are separated below.

If you call or text the line

It is not a person

The assistant says so in its first sentence, on every call. It is software. It has no clinical training and makes no clinical judgement.

It is not medical advice

It answers questions about how a study runs — visit times, fasting rules, travel, what the protocol says. It will not tell you whether a symptom is normal, whether a medicine is safe for you, or what to do about your health. Those go to your study doctor.

It answers from a written list

Everything it says about your study comes from documents and answers your research site supplied and reviewed. When those do not cover your question, it says it has no approved answer rather than guessing. That is the intended behaviour, not a fault.

What it writes down, and what it does not do with it

Everything you say is kept as a written transcript. If you mention a symptom, a fall, a new medicine or anything else, it writes that down. It does not send it anywhere by itself, and nobody is notified automatically. So if something matters, ring your study team as well. The assistant will tell you the same thing.

Emergencies

Do not use this line in an emergency. Call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988. The assistant will tell you to do exactly that and will not try to handle it itself.

Text messages

Reply STOP to end messages. Reply HELP for information. Message and data rates may apply. How often you get messages depends on how often you text; we never message you first.

Availability

The line is meant to answer at any hour, but it is software on the internet and it can be unavailable. It is not a substitute for your site's own contact routes, and it is never the only way to reach your study team.

If you are a site buying the service

What you are buying

One telephone number that answers questions from your participants, using an answer list written from your protocol and approved by you before the first call, and a written transcript of every call. What each tier includes, and an explicit list of what it does not include, are on the pricing section.

The answer list is yours to approve

Nothing is said to a participant that you have not read first. We write the answers from your protocol and consent form; you strike anything you do not want said. If your site needs IRB sign-off on participant-facing language, that timeline is yours and we cannot shorten it.

What it does not do

It does not notify you automatically. It does not text or telephone your participants. It does not connect a participant to your site. It is not a validated system and carries no 21 CFR Part 11 claim. These are set out at length on the home page, and they are part of this agreement rather than marketing caveats.

Payment and cancelling

The monthly line is charged monthly. Cancel by email, with no notice period and no minimum term; you are not billed again after you cancel. The answer set is charged once and is refundable in full any time before we begin writing it.

Your data

Participant records belong to your study. We process them to run the service and for nothing else — see Privacy. On request we remove a participant's record from every table it appears in.

Limits

Trialpal answers questions about a study. It is not a medical device, it is not a clinical decision support system, and it does not practise medicine. Responsibility for the conduct of your study, for your participants' safety, and for acting on anything the line recorded, remains with your site and your investigator.

Contact

hello@trialpal.io

Trialpal · Privacy · Terms · hello@trialpal.io