The advancement of medicine in the United States and around the world would be a far cry from what it is today without the use of clinical trials. Testing is perhaps the most important process for medication; it needs to be tested to make sure it’s safe.
There are other reasons in addition to medication testing where clinical trials are useful. They can be conducted to test new or updated equipment, techniques, etc. Medical researchers are interested in the minute details and use clinical trials as a way of gathering information.
Some studies will let just about anyone in perfect health to join. Others require you to have a certain medical condition in order to enroll. This is known as inclusion criteria. There are often several of these eligibility requirements that need to be met before starting.
Additionally, there are often disqualifying conditions known as exclusion criteria. These inclusion and exclusion requirements are put in place for not only to insure integrity of the study, but more importantly to not impose additional or known health risk to the subject.
Women who are pregnant are almost always excluded from clinical trials of drugs for safety reasons. This may even extend to all women of childbearing age or even men who may impregnate a women.
» Read more: The Importance of Clinical Trials for Medical Research and Drug Development
