Be a leader
Founded and managed by trained physicians, Synergy Healthcare is a leading multi-specialty clinical research company. We believe that clinical trials offer hope for many people and that research holds the key to understanding disease and developing improved future treatments. Many patients feel that participating in clinical trials allows them to have more control over their own healthcare and gives them a sense of participating in the overall advancement of medical care.
When you partner with Synergy Healthcare as a clinical trial volunteer we work hard to ensure that your experience is as positive and rewarding as possible. Be a leader!
What is a Clinical Trial?
Clinical trials are a critical part of clinical research and lay at the heart of all medical advancement. In fact, our current level of medical knowledge is the direct result of clinical research, and remain a critical aspect of all medical advancement. Clinical trials are a critical part of helping clinicians understand disease, developing improved treatment regimens and raising the quality of life for countless individuals.
The success of clinical trials is dependent upon on dedicated clinical trial volunteers working together with research professionals. Clinical trials must follow strict ethical and legal performance guidelines in order to ensure the protection and rights of study volunteers.
All clinical trials must adhere to rules and guidelines are set and enforced by groups such as an Institutional Review Board, as well as government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Office of Human Research Protection.
What is a patient volunteer?
A patient volunteer has a known health problem and participates in a study to better understand, diagnose, treat or cure that disease or condition. Like healthy volunteers, patient volunteers may participate in studies testing drugs, devices or interventions designed to prevent or treat disease.
In some studies, patient volunteers may be put into a group to take an inactive drug called a placebo. Placement in placebo groups is random, so each volunteer has an equal chance of getting either the active drug or the placebo.
For most studies, neither you nor your doctor will know if you are getting the drug or the placebo. This is to prevent any bias in the study results.
Why volunteer?
There are many benefits of volunteering in clinical trials. By volunteering in clinical trials, you are contributing to the advancement of medical knowledge. Many of today’s current treatments and much of our understanding of disease and many of today’s current treatments come directly from clinical trials. Volunteering in clinical trials offer you an opportunity to help scientists find better ways of preventing and treating diseases, thereby improving health for all.
Additionally, by volunteering for clinical research trials, you may also:
- Receive monetary compensation – Compensation may vary depending upon the type of study, complexity and length of s study
- Receive no-cost medical care – restrictions of insurance questions, co-pays, and gatekeeper approval, clinical research has the luxury of providing better healthcare, more labs and tests, and more procedures.
- Medical insurance is not required – There is no cost to you to participate in a clinical trial as a study volunteer.
Who participates in clinical trials?
All clinical trials have guidelines about who can participate, called inclusion and exclusion criteria. Both sets of criteria are based on factors such as age, gender, the type and stage of a disease, previous treatment history and other medical conditions.
Before joining a clinical trial, a participant must qualify for the study. Some studies look for participants with illnesses or conditions to be studied in the clinical trial, while others need healthy volunteers. Some studies need both types of volunteers.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria are not used to reject people personally; rather, the criteria are used to see if the study is a good fit for participants, keep them safe and help ensure scientists can find the information they need.
