The Clinical Research Process

If you are interested in participating, please call our office or send us a request to contact you from our website. We will then schedule an appointment for you to be seen by Dr. Peace, where he can explain the purpose and duration of the protocol and answer fully any questions you may have about the study. During the explanation of the protocol, Dr. Peace will also inform you of your obligations to participate and follow, which are very important to obtain the best data to report to the pharmaceutical company. All of your information and test results are protected by HIPAA. To protect your privacy, you are assigned a subject number and your initials are also used to indicate which patient you are. Your name is not mentioned in any communications regarding any report we submit. Your rights as a study participant are also fully protected and the studies are completely voluntary.

Each clinical study is reviewed independently by an Investigational Review Board, which is made of up nurses, doctors, allied personnel, etc. to protect and ensure that all study volunteers are treated ethically. The same legal codes that govern medical practices also apply to clinical trials. There are usually four phases to clinical studies, and each phase has a different purpose and goal which progresses throughout the evaluation of a new study medication.