Who Qualifies to be in a Trial?

Because each trial is designed to answer some very specific research questions, not everyone is eligible to be a participant in a particular trial. The protocol of every clinical trial is designed to target a distinctive and specific medical condition. If the research trial is testing an investigational diabetes drug, then only patient volunteers with diabetes will qualify to be in the study. However every protocol is designed to exclude potential study participants who have coexisting medical problems or take certain medications that either put them at risk or cloud study results.

Once a potential participant has been identified, a brief medical evaluation that covers your general health, current medications, age and other factors, is performed. After this evaluation the research coordinators will be better able to discuss your eligibility for a particular study.