The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a committee, formally designated by Mercy Medical Center to review, approve the initiation of and conduct ongoing and periodic review of investigational research involving human subjects.

The purpose of the IRB is to ensure that no investigational research done under the jurisdiction, or on the premises of Mercy Medical Center, shall expose persons who participate as subjects to unreasonable risks to their health, general wellbeing or privacy. It is the policy of Mercy Medical Center that in all research, development and related activities involving the participation of human subjects that the:

• Rights and welfare of the human subjects at risk are adequately protected.
• Participation of human subjects is based upon uncoerced and otherwise legally-effective informed consent.
• Risks to human subjects participating are so outweighed by the sum benefit to general human subjects and the importance of the knowledge to be gained as to warrant a decision to allow human subjects to accept these risks.

Mercy's IRB has its own Federalwide Assurance (FWA) and is a member of the Des Moines Joint Hospitals IRB through their separate FWA. At any given time, Mercy's IRB is actively managing between 80 and 100 studies that use human subjects to better understand acute and chronic conditions, and to explore novel treatments for these medical conditions.

In November 2008, the Mercy IRB was ranked fourth best in the nation by the National Association of Institutional Managers (NAIM) for the human subject protection education program.

To obtain current information on the composition, policies and procedures of the institutional review board, contact Marsha White, IRB administrator, by e-mail at mwhite3@mercydesmoines.org or by phone at (515) 247-3985.