Once our site is selected by the sponsor, we begin to tell patients about our new protocol to see if they qualify and are interested. Each patient is carefully informed of the risks and benefits of the program. Detailed information is provided that they can review at their leisure either in our office or at home. Questions are strongly encouraged, both from the patient themselves and from family members. No research program is ever a contract. Patients are free to discontinue participation at any time for any reason. The only thing we usually ask is one last visit to make sure that the patient is healthy before ending the program, but even that is optional. If a patient decides that they no longer want to continue, it does not impact their relationship with our physicians.

We match patients to protocols so that our patients have access to cutting edge options before the rest of the population. This benefits the sponsor company by helping build the knowledge about a particular medication, and it benefits the patient by providing them with frequent evaluations and access to new medications. This also benefits future generations. Without clinical research today, there would be no new medications tomorrow.
As one can tell, the clinical research industry is very important because patients have the capabilities to not only change their immediate future in a positive way; but they are also the key to positively changing many generations to come.

When you seek medical care, you want the very best. We are dedicated to providing the best available care through clinical research studies.
If you are seeking to enroll in a clinical trial, you are not alone. Millions of people enroll nationwide every year. Participants in these studies help answer important questions about the best ways to diagnose and treat various medical conditions. People choose research for several reasons: to help others, to advance science or knowledge about a particular disease or treatment, to receive options that might not be available outside of a research facility, and to have state of the art research analysts involved in their case.

After interested and qualified patients are found, these patients consult with our specialized physicians and coordinators to begin the research program. Generally, this begins with a "screening visit" where the patient is first brought in to carefully review the informed consent to make sure the program is something they want to do. Only after all of the risks and benefits are explained and all questions are answered do we proceed. Next we collect a detailed medical history and usually draw labs and do a physical exam. These are done to make sure that the patient is an appropriate candidate for the program. 
Once the screening visit lab results are received, the next step is the "baseline visit". This is the first visit where the patient receives the study medication. Generally, this visit typically includes questionnaires, lab draws, and a physical exam though what is done varies depending on the specific research program. The screening visit and the baseline visit are typically the longest two visits of the program. 
The next step is follow-up visits. These can be spaced several days to several weeks after the baseline visit depending on the complexity of the program. These are on a predetermined schedule that is explained at the screening and baseline visits. Some programs are as short as a month, whereas some last for five years or more. Each one is different. 

Medical advances throughout history have been possible because of selfless volunteers, and in many cases participants in research have benefited from the advantages of tomorrow's medicine. Many have enjoyed increased quality of life, improved health and well-being and have enjoyed knowing they are part of medical history, by helping tomorrow's future. Today is the perfect day to volunteer. Enroll today for tomorrow's future.

In the first phase or "Pre-Clinical" phase, scientists test compounds to see if they improve markers of disease in cultured cell lines and animal models. Extensive testing is done before medications enter the next phase.

The first tests to see how a medication works in people are done in Phase I trials. These are carefully controlled and carefully monitored. Generally Phase Ia trials are done in healthy volunteers. Once Phase 1a trials are completed and the medication is shown to be safe, the medication is tested in Phase Ib trials. Phase Ib trials can be done in people with the disease being studied. Once again, the patients are carefully monitored. Phase I studies generally only have small numbers of patients.

Once the initial safety testing is completed in Phase I trials, the next step can begin. In Phase II trials, the goal is usually to see if the medication is effective in the disease being studied. Phase II trials are larger than Phase I trials.

These are often the largest trials. Once the medication has been shown to be safe and effective in the previous Phase I and Phase II trials, the next step is to see which doses work best and how the medication compares to others on the market. This is the last step before medications are approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).

Referred to as Phase IV trials, these are trials to further monitor medications that are already FDA approved and on the market.