Potential Benefits of a Clinical Trial

Helping in the Development of New Medications
Volunteering to participate in a clinical drug study is one of the best ways you can contribute to the understanding of diseases that affect people and the development of new therapies. Volunteers are important to the completion clinical studies in each phase of the drug approval process. As a volunteer, you are the most critical link in a long chain of research and testing in the development of new medications for a broad range of health problems.

Helping Others with Mental Health Conditions
Ongoing research uncovers new information about medical conditions and possible therapies. Your involvement in a clinical trial helps in the development of new medications. You and many other people benefit from your willingness to become involved.

Access to Advanced Treatments
Clinical trials are usually where the latest and cutting-edge treatments are first made available for use. For example, novel antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, antipsychotic drugs, and medical devices that are being developed as a better or only form of treatment are available only through participating in a clinical trial before its release to the market.

More Intense Supervision of Treatments
Patients are followed up more frequently, and more extensively than they would be as a patient in a non-research setting. The greater frequency of visits provides more contact with your doctors and health professionals, helps ensure a high level of care and maximize patient safety.

Access to Medication and Sundry Expenses
For the duration of the trial patients participating in a clinical trial are provided with medication and receive comprehensive psychiatric and medical review at no cost. They also may be eligible for reimbursement of travel expenses related to attending at the clinic.

What are the Risks of a Clinical Trial?

Risks in Participating in a Clinical Trial
As in any treatment, there is no guarantee that the medication will work. Side effects are usually less than or similar to those seen in comparable medications, there is a small chance the potential for more serious or unusual reactions. Patients in clinical trials are therefore closely monitored.

Protection from Potential Risks of a Clinical Trial
Before being brought forward to a clinical trial medications are extensively researched and tested in the preclinical stage of development. Subsequently there are a number of group reviews and processes designed to regulate clinical trials and to help protect trial participants. including Institutional Review Board, Peer reviews, and the Informed Consent process help protect the rights of clinical trial patients.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Peer Review
An Institutional Review Board (IRB) monitors actions and documentation in the clinical trial process. Medical specialists, nurses, medical ethicists, patient advocates, social workers and clergy usually make up an IRB. The purpose of an IRB is to ensure that the trial patients are treated safely, ethically, fairly.

Peer Review is conducted by experts, chosen by a study sponsor, to gauge the merit, safety and ethical issues of a trial.

Learn about HOW to participate in a Clinical Trial here.
Research and Clinical Trials Main Page
Leran more about our clinic's areas of study here.

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