Getz on Clinical Research

Every one of us, at some point in our lives, will face the daunting challenge of having to choose between medical options for ourselves, our family and our friends.  Clinical trials are playing a large and growing role among the options for patients and their health care providers to evaluate and consider.  Nearly 4,000 experimental drug therapies are in active clinical trials today and that number will continue to grow as improvements are made in detecting disease, in understanding the root causes of acute and chronic illnesses, and in discovering medical innovations.  And in the not-so-distant future it will be more common for clinical trials to be discussed during routine visits with the doctor as electronic health records and clinical research converge. At the Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP), we feel the most important thing potential trial participants should know is that ‘Education must come before Participation’.   For the vast majority of people, the idea of clinical trials never enters their minds.  Most people stumble upon clinical trial opportunities when faced with the sudden prospect of a serious, often life-threatening, illness for which no marketed medication is available or adequate.  The learning curve is very steep and most people must hastily navigate the unknown terrain of clinical trials invariably feeling overwhelmed and confused by the undertaking.  There are so many steps to becoming educated and...
Source: PHRMA - Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Source Type: news