Risk Invovled In Clinical Trial for Clinical Research

The risks involved in a clinical research trial may be unpleasant, serious, or life-threatening. It is because the treatment given in a clinical research trial is generally experimental. These studies may require more time and various details like dosage and side-effects than a standard normal treatment. The potential risks of any clinical research trial include:

• The lack of authorization in the decision-making of the type of treatment received: Clinical trials are usually randomly normalized. It causes the trial subjects to be assigned to a specific treatment at random. They don’t have the authority to decide what treatment they shall receive. One can either be placed in the drug group or the placebo group, and the patient has no jurisdiction over this choice.
• The treatment given may not be effective: As these are experimental trials, the treatment may not affect the subject. It may make no difference in the condition of that patient. It may benefit a few, while it may not have any effect on the others. There is also a chance that the new treatment is not as effective as the existing ones.
• Increase in the frequency of visits to the doctor: Clinical trials involve close monitoring before, during, and after administration of the treatment. The trial subject may have to undergo many tests frequently. It may disrupt everyday life.
• Severe side-effects: This generally occurs in the initial trial stages. That is the trial phase I and trial phase II. The side-effects may also be much more severe than the current treatments. These may cause the test subject to feel extremely uncomfortable and may also need medical attention. Even after all these hardships, the treatment may not be as effective as needed. 
• Insurance companies may not cover the costs of clinical trials: Insurance companies do not cover the costs of these clinical trials. Hence inquiries about the cost and charges should be made in advance. The costs may be high, and the test subject may not get any relief from the trial. This is another risk posed by clinical research trials.