Clinical research is a type of scientific investigation that is patient-centered and seeks to understand human disease, and evaluate new treatments for diseases or evaluate new technologies for restoring health or marinating wellness through direct interaction with living human beings, their medical records, or specimens obtained from them.

New treatments are always evaluated with the purpose of determining if novel methods are safe and effective for their intended purposes.

Individual patients who are being studied in a clinical research program are referred to as “participants” because through their voluntary involvement in clinical research, they are actually joining physicians and scientists in their quest to gain new understanding regarding the health conditions they are investigating.

Clinical research always has a purpose that is beneficial either to the person participating in the research or to society in general.