For Patients & Participants
Joining a study, explained plainly.
Clinical research is how new treatments become available. If you are considering taking part, you deserve to understand what it involves before anyone asks you to sign anything. Here is the honest version.
Speak to someone
(601) 454-4479Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm CT
Asking a question commits you to nothing. Neither does registering your interest.
The basics
What a clinical study actually is.
A clinical study tests whether a treatment — a medication, a device, a dressing, a therapy — is safe and whether it works. Studies follow a written plan called a protocol, which sets out exactly who can take part, what will happen at each visit, and how results will be measured. Nothing in a study is improvised.
Every study is reviewed and approved by an institutional review board, an independent committee whose job is to protect the people taking part. Studies are also organized in phases, so treatments are examined in small, closely supervised groups before being studied in larger ones.
Taking part is always voluntary. You may leave a study at any point, for any reason, without affecting your regular medical care.
What to expect
From first conversation to final visit.
- 01
Screening conversation
Someone from the study team will talk through your medical history and the study's requirements to see whether you might be eligible. This costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
- 02
Informed consent
You will receive a written consent document explaining the purpose, procedures, risks, benefits, and alternatives, and someone will explain it to you verbally in plain language. You can take it home, discuss it with family, and ask as many questions as you want before deciding.
- 03
Study visits
Visits happen at your provider's office or a study site. Some visits may be conducted by video or by a nurse visiting your home, depending on the study. You will always be told the schedule in advance.
- 04
Follow-up and close-out
Many studies follow participants for weeks, months, or in some cases years. A nurse from our team may contact you between visits to check how you are doing, review symptoms, or help you record information at home.
Your rights
What you are entitled to, always.
- To have the study explained in language you understand, before you decide
- To ask any question at any time and get a straight answer
- To take the consent document home and discuss it with whoever you choose
- To decline to take part, with no effect on your regular medical care
- To withdraw from a study at any point, for any reason, without penalty
- To be told about new information that might affect your willingness to continue
- To have your personal health information protected under HIPAA
- To know who to contact with a question, a concern, or a problem
Common questions
What people ask before they decide.
Study-related procedures and study treatment are generally provided at no cost to you. Most studies also offer compensation to cover reasonable costs of taking part, such as travel and time. The consent document will state exactly what is covered and what compensation is offered before you agree to anything.
No. Taking part in a study does not replace your regular medical care, and in most studies your own provider is either directly involved or kept informed. If a study would require any change to your current treatment, that will be explained clearly during consent.
That depends on the study, and it is a fair thing to ask about early. Many of the studies we manage are designed with remote elements — video visits, nurse visits at your home, or measurements you record yourself — specifically to reduce how often you need to travel.
Tell the study team immediately. Every study has a defined process for reporting and responding to side effects and unexpected symptoms, and you will be given contact details for reaching someone. Your safety takes priority over the study.
Your health information is protected under HIPAA and handled under formal agreements governing how it may be used. Information shared with the study sponsor is generally coded rather than identified by name. The consent document explains precisely who may see your information and why.
Register your interest through our contact form and tell us your general location and the condition you are interested in. We will let you know whether a study in our network may be a fit. Registering your interest does not enroll you in anything.
Register your interest
Tell us your general location and what condition you are dealing with.
We will let you know whether a study in our network might be a fit. Registering your interest does not enroll you in anything, and there is no obligation of any kind.