Clinical Trials - Frequently Asked Questions

You should continue to see your specialist and primary care physician while enrolled in a clinical trial.  Your doctor:

• Can help ensure that other medications and treatments do not conflict with the drug being tested in the clinical trial.
• May help identify any adverse reactions or side effects you may experience from the experimental drug.
• Be on guard against signs of a medical condition not related to the condition which is the subject of the clinical trial.
• Both doctors, but particularly your primary care physician, will see you over the long haul. Most clinical trials are designed to only provide short-term treatments. Even those trials providing longer term treatment are not usually designed to provide complete primary health care.

It is advisable to discuss the matter with your doctors before starting a clinical trial. Your doctors can explain the real risks and benefits and provide an expert opinion about whether the trial is worthwhile for you.

At least one of your doctors will also likely have to submit additional paperwork because of your participation in the trial. What the doctor says in the paperwork could help assure, or hinder, insurance company reimbursement.

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