| Maybe
you've exhausted established treatments. If you've exhausted other treatments,
taking part in new studies allows you to try different options. You may be looking
for improvement in treatment over medicines currently available. Medical trials
give patients access to new treatments before they're widely available to the
general public. By participating in a clinical trial, you are taking an active
role in your own health care, and potentially gaining access to tomorrow’s treatments...
TODAY! Is
it safe to participate in a Clinical Trial?The
World Medical Association (WMA) has strict rules for the treatment of patients
participating in medical studies. Amongst other things, the WMA insists that participants
in clinical trials receive the best possible health care. Patient’s rights
and safety are top priority. This
means that, for the duration of their participation in the clinical trials, participants
receive free health care from leading experts for medical conditions related to
the study. Any study-related medications required during the trials are provided
free of charge. Patient
comments about participating in clinical trials: “I
feel like the staff is looking out for my safety and best interest.” Long
before we ask you to participate in a research program, there are many months
of preparation. Aside from the actual writing and design of the trial, there is
a committee called the IRB or HIRC that reviews the protocol for its safety and
ethically. This mandatory process alone can take one to two months. “I
felt like someone was considering me and my physical and emotional needs rather
than treating me like my problem is all in my head.” We choose
a study that meets your personal needs. To do this, we consider such things as
your age, gender, symptoms, other medical conditions and medications.
“I feel comfortable talking about personal and sometime embarrassing
issues with the staff.” It is imperative that you share all
of your medical history and symptomology with us. This ensures safety for you
as well as providing essential information when evaluating study results. All
the information you share with us is 100% confidential. Volunteers are never identified
by name, social security number, date of birth or any other identifying factor
when analyzing data, reporting results to a sponsor or in an article. “I
have no health insurance. Participating in a clinical trial not only provides
me with study medication, I also get a physical exam and lab work...at no cost!”
It is not necessary to have medical insurance to participate in
our program. If you do, we would never charge your insurance. All of our programs
require that you have a limited physical exam with our Nurse Practitioner or one
of our physicians. We do not serve as your primary care physician and should not
take his or her place, but for those of you who do not have insurance, we are
happy to provide this service. Some of the programs require lab work and others
require a general medical examination. The results of the tests are available
to you for your personal medical record. “I want to participate
even if it doesn’t benefit me immediately...I would do anything to help have
a better understanding of my condition and work toward better management of my
symptoms.” Your altruism is to be admired and if it were not
for the hundreds of people like you that do volunteer, our program would not exist.
We want you to know how much we appreciate your time and any inconvenience you
may experience. Together, we hope to find answers and possibly new questions that
will lead to improved qualify of life for you and the hundreds of thousands that
experience similar symptoms. A sincere thank you....our hats off to you. ____________________________________________ | 
