Clinical trials serve as the basis for many of the most important therapies, drugs, and treatments available today for people seeking healthcare services for every disease and disorder out there. Every day, new and improved forms of treatment are being developed through research. Clinical trials for medications are just one of the areas where this research is taking place, and they’re vital to advancing healthcare for us all.
How Clinical Trials Advance Medicine
1. Recruitment
Recruitment of qualified and diverse people is key to proving to regulatory agencies and drug companies that a new treatment is safe and effective, which is why recruiting for clinical trials is so important. Most clinical trials utilize a proprietary form of recruitment, where the clinical trial sponsor invites patients to enroll in studies with certain conditions. This is based on patient needs and study viability.
The most important aspect of this step is knowing who to target for recruitment. This can be done by choosing patients referred by referring physicians or patients already taking part in other treatments or studies that the sponsor of the clinical trial is conducting.
2. Retention
Participants of clinical trials are required to stay enrolled in clinical trials until they have been completed. The retention process is usually done through patient outreach, reminders, and follow-up of clinical trial procedures until completed. The data obtained during this time is precious in terms of the efficacy and safety of treatments, including adjusting medication dosages and duration of treatment required for different patients.
There can be many factors that cause people not to participate in clinical trials after being enrolled. These factors are sometimes very personal, such as financial issues or concerns about the drug. This is why clinical trials should be designed to encourage retention in every way possible, from convenience to financial compensation to reduction of health risks.
3. Conclusion
Clinical trials are completed in stages, from small-scale, highly selective groups receiving treatment to large-scale, scientifically rigorous examination of the ideal treatment protocol for the most effective application. The conclusion of each stage depends on the requirements of regulatory agencies and the financial pressure of the companies developing the treatments, who don’t want the cost of testing their products to overwhelm their potential benefits. At the conclusion of a trial stage, a company or regulatory agency can decide to cease investigating a given treatment or drug or continue pursuing trials in larger and larger populations.
Be A Part of Scientific Discovery and Advancement in Medicine
The fickle yet highly regulated nature of clinical trials here in the US means that drug and medical companies benefit highly from having a pool of potential trial participants to call on at any given moment to try a new treatment for their unique condition. Often, these treatments result in reduction of symptoms, financial compensation for travel and other expenses, and the feeling of fulfillment knowing that you’re helping determine the best path forward for a treatment for someone else’s disease or disorder. Join Altus Research and become a part of our ever-growing database of volunteers who are committed to finding a treatment for their condition and the betterment of medicine technology. Take our survey to join our team today!
