Patient Privacy

If a patient/volunteer agrees to join a trial, some people will need to be notified about the participation.

It is the responsibility of the patient to notify their Primary Care Physician that they are participating in a trial; it is not the clinical sites obligation.

The fact that someone is taking part in a trial will be written in that patient’s medical notes. Investigators cannot tell anyone else about a participation in a trial unless the patient gives his or her permission.

During the trial, all of the information collected about the participant will be kept confidential, as with any other medical records. When investigators publish the results of a trial, they are not allowed to include any information that would identify people – a patient’s name will not be used in any reports or publications.

The end of a clinical trial has no impact on the confidentiality of those records; they will still be protected from disclosure to third parties.