Clinical Trials aim to find better treatments for future patients. Trials are run according to a strict set of guidelines or Protocol and all patients involved in the trial are closely monitored. The information collected during the course of the trial is combined and analysed by trained researchers. The results will help to determine what are the best treatments and so, help improve care for patients in the future. Medical advances can only be made through research.
Clinical trials are one way in which progress can be made.
They are the most reliable way to test a new treatment. New treatments are not necessarily better. In fact sometimes they can be worse than those already available. Clinical Trials are needed to find out whether or not a treatment has any real benefit. If the results of the trial show that the new treatment has advantages over the current treatment, then the new treatment is likely to become the future standard and so lead to improvements for all.