Why Your Doctor Wants You to Participate In a Clinical Trial
You're in the doctor's office -- maybe it's the primary care physician you or your family sees all the time, maybe it's a specialist you've been referred to. Maybe you have a new condition you're concerned about, maybe you are just in for a routine physical. But, after examining you, the doctor says she thinks you would be a good candidate for a clinical trial and asks whether or not you would be interested.
You probably trust your doctor. To some degree, you have to -- whether you like her or not. She knows things you don't, so you put considerable trust in what she suggests.
So, before you register at the front desk for the guinea pig suite, you might wonder what's in it for your doctor? Why is she suggesting that you, her patient, be subjected to the risks and benefits of a clinical trial?
First of all, assuming she has your best medical interests in mind, she may have reason to believe that you will benefit medically by participating. If you're ill or have a particular condition the clinical trial is designed to treat, and if past and current therapies are not satisfactory or the side effects are bothering you, she may feel that the therapy being tested would offer you an opportunity to improve your health.
Second, her practice may be paid for every participant enrolled in the clinical trial. Such payment typically amounts to covering the expenses of administering the clinical trial. Bonuses or "finder's fees" are usually considered improper, although they are not unheard of. The principle most often followed is that any such incentive to the doctor or her practice not be so great as to cause her to pressure patients into participating.
Third, your doctor may feel that her practice would benefit generally from offering clinical trial opportunities to its patients. Perhaps the opportunities would attract new patients.
Finally, she may be interested in learning more about medicine and medical research by participating as an investigator in clinical trials. She will become familiar with the latest advances and will observe first-hand how such advances are translated into practice.
In different ways, all of the above reasons for your doctor's interest in clinical trials may well be to your advantage as a patient.
-Joe
Related Topics: Americans Want More Medical Research, Sorting Through the Latest Drug Studies
Technorati Tags: clinical trials
You probably trust your doctor. To some degree, you have to -- whether you like her or not. She knows things you don't, so you put considerable trust in what she suggests.
So, before you register at the front desk for the guinea pig suite, you might wonder what's in it for your doctor? Why is she suggesting that you, her patient, be subjected to the risks and benefits of a clinical trial?
First of all, assuming she has your best medical interests in mind, she may have reason to believe that you will benefit medically by participating. If you're ill or have a particular condition the clinical trial is designed to treat, and if past and current therapies are not satisfactory or the side effects are bothering you, she may feel that the therapy being tested would offer you an opportunity to improve your health.
Second, her practice may be paid for every participant enrolled in the clinical trial. Such payment typically amounts to covering the expenses of administering the clinical trial. Bonuses or "finder's fees" are usually considered improper, although they are not unheard of. The principle most often followed is that any such incentive to the doctor or her practice not be so great as to cause her to pressure patients into participating.
Third, your doctor may feel that her practice would benefit generally from offering clinical trial opportunities to its patients. Perhaps the opportunities would attract new patients.
Finally, she may be interested in learning more about medicine and medical research by participating as an investigator in clinical trials. She will become familiar with the latest advances and will observe first-hand how such advances are translated into practice.
In different ways, all of the above reasons for your doctor's interest in clinical trials may well be to your advantage as a patient.
-Joe
Related Topics: Americans Want More Medical Research, Sorting Through the Latest Drug Studies
Technorati Tags: clinical trials
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