Medical trials have been a massive help to all essence of medicines and hospitals and there have been breakthroughs in numerous areas over the last few decades. With hundreds of medical trials going on at any amount of time, the biggest problem for the hospitals and organisations arranging them is finding people willing to participate which has a significant impact on the progress they are able to make. If you are unsure about participating in a medical trial, but feel you do not know enough about them to make a decision, read our facts that everyone should know about clinical trials.
Benefits
There are lots of diseases and illnesses out there that have ineffective treatments despite all of the medical advances due to clinical trials. This can often mean that clinical trials themselves are the best option when it comes to treatment. All trials will have risks, but a patient’s illness could benefit massively from the cutting-edge therapy it receives. By enrolling in a clinical trial, you will be helping the future treatments options to improve! It is also worth speaking to a company that does clinical trials such as HMR Bridging Studies so you can ask all of your questions and once and find out everything you need to know.
Unique eligibility
There are many features which will control how a clinical trial will be directed, including:
- The phase of the study
- The clinical indication of focus
- The geographic location
These features will be used to regulate the suitability criteria for participants of a particular study. If you are thinking about participating in a study, then you will be screened against this criteria in order to work out your eligibility. This helps ensure that the data collected from the research is viable and as accurate as possible.
Right and protections
It is important to know that all clinical trial participants have rights and protections. No patients will be enrolled unless they have managed to sign the consent form for the study. They will have to go through a required process so that the patient can have all of the required information and knows what it is they will be required to do in the clinical research organisation during the trial. Once they fully understand what they are expected to do and what the trial will entail, they can then sign the form. They also have rights which must be adhered to by the clinic.
Medical costs
There are costs that are related with clinical trials which patients would need to be aware of. It is important that you talk to the principal investigator for the study before you enrol. The first can be are the research costs that cover what was performed specifically for the purpose of the clinical trial, which are typically either administered treatments and therapies and required screening tests. The second cost could be routine medical care costs which include the types of services and procedures that occur regardless of the specific study protocol. People who take part in a clinical trial will not have to pay for these costs and can earn money for their participation.