Nearly 4,000 experimental medications are in active clinical
trials today. Behind every FDA approved medications are the thousands of
patients that volunteer for clinical trials. The clinical trial process is
highly regulated, managed by very experienced professionals and has built in
safe guards to help protect study volunteers. There are many benefits that the
Diabetic patient receives by volunteering for a clinical trial including but
not limited to the following:
Glucose meter and strips are provided and
patient is held accountable to record blood sugars
Investigational Product diabetes medication is
provided and patient is held accountable for medication compliance at every
study visit
Regular blood work and physical exams are conducted
and results reviewed with the patient. Results of this blood work are sent to
the provider with patient’s permission.
Lifestyle modification including proper diet,
exercise and smoking cessation is done at all visits per protocol requirements
Compensation is provided to the patient for their time and travel
Additionally there are also benefits to the health care
professional that have their patients with diabetes participating in clinical
trials. These benefits include but are not limited to the following:
Continuity of care between research site and
patient’s providers to inform about what the trial involves and to send testing
results such as lab work, CGM results and ECG to the providers with the
participants permission
Long term safety diabetic clinical trials
provide a form of case management for the enrolled volunteers since protocols require
the subject to meet standard of care parameters.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that takes a team
of professionals working together for improved patient outcomes. Research
professionals make great team members and patient advocates at no additional
cost to the patient or provider.
Both the ADA and the AADE support clinical trial research. Mountain View Clinical Research the company
I co-founded and own with my Family Physician Partners conduct both type 1 and
type 2 clinical trials under the direction of Dr. Ronald Mayfield,
endocrinologist and MVCR medical director. The clinic is located in Greer, SC.
We run approximately 20 diabetes clinical trials at any given time including
type 1 and type 2 diabetes clinical trials. Please visit our website at www.mvcresearch.com and like us on Facebook.
Patients with diabetes that volunteer for clinical trials
are not only helping themselves but future patients that will develop diabetes.
Additionally providers that refer their patients to clinical trials are
providing another team member to assist their patients in the journey to
maintain control of their diabetes with no added cost to provider or patient.
Please let me know your thoughts or questions concerning
clinical trials on diabetes. To learn more about clinical trials in general do
visit www.ciscrp.org a non-profit
organization that educates people about clinical trials.