Clinical Trials
The UNTHSC department of family medicine is committed to excellence in the delivery of healthcare. Paramount to achieving that standard is continuing medical education. Off-site conferences are a common source for receiving up-to-date information on diseases, diagnostics and treatment options. The family medicine department also takes a hands-on approach to learn of new treatment options through involvement in clinical trials.
Clinical trials allow the physician to gain first hand knowledge and experience with the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of new drugs before they are available on the market. This not only results in increased confidence on the part of the physician prescribing the drug, but also allows earlier access to the study drug for subjects whose conditions are not controlled with current available drugs. Clinical trials also succeed when other methods fail in getting patients actively involved in their own healthcare. Lastly, clinical trials provide an additional source of income to support clinic staff.
Study subjects gain satisfaction from contributing to the development of science that may benefit them, or family members who share common diagnoses. Frequently study participants express their desire to participate in trials because they achieve better control of their disease due to the intense monitoring and frequent visits with study staff. Since diagnostic procedures, laboratory assessments and study medication are provided by the study sponsor at no cost to the patient, many patients without means to afford access to medical care benefit from the close monitoring and treatments available to them through participation in clinical trials.
Clinical trials are a great avenue for physician education, patient involvement and access to healthcare, and supplemental income for the physician.
For additional information on clinical trials contact
Dr. Clifton Cage, D.O., Assistant Professor, Director, Center for Clinical Trials, 817-735-2228 or ccage@hsc.unt.edu.
For a list of Open Trials accepting patients for enrollment click here.
This page last updated Jul 08, 2009
