Did you know that May 20th is International Clinical Trials Day. It commemorates the first “clinical trial” by James Lind, a Scottish surgeon in 1747. In trying to figure out what caused scurvy, a disease characterized by loss of teeth, bleeding gums and hemorrhaging, he conducted experiments. Twelve men with scurvy were divided into pairs and each of the 6 pairs of men were given a different common treatment for scurvy at the time: 1) seawater; 2) cider; 3) vinegar; 4) combination of garlic and mustard; 5) orange juice; and 6) lime juice. The last two pairs of participants, those that received a treatment of citrus juice (either orange or lime juice), both recovered from their scurvy.
What are clinical trials?
Clinical trials are research studies in which people volunteer to participate. They are currently, nearly the only accepted strategy to determine if treatments work, how safe they are, how reliable they are, and if one treatment is better than another. To learn more about them, click on this link to watch an explainer video or here to find out more about them.
Are you searching for a clinical trial?
If you are searching online for a clinical trial, it’s easy to get bogged down. For example, as of today, there are 1,577 open, interventional clinical trials aiming to recruit breast cancer patients. As we explained in previous posts, sometimes physicians don’t advise their patients about clinical trials. Or they may not know about a clinical trial that is applicable for you. One reason is that there are often so many different options.
You may not realize it, but you are reading a blog by a company that has helped hundreds of people connect to the right clinical trial for them. And it’s part of the package of services that you receive when you sign up for Medivizor.
Let me take you through the process.
Here is a screenshot of the sign-up page.
As you can see, you type in basic information so that Medivizor’s technology can provide you with content specifically for your condition. I created an individual, John Smith, living in Ohio, who has a recurrence of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
When I type in Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a pop-up will appear asking me questions to clarify some details about the diagnosis.
When you sign up for Medivizor’s personalized health information service, the technology searches among the overwhelming number of clinical trials available for the one that is right for you and your condition.
Once I press the Done button, Medivizor’s technology goes to work searching for health information and clinical trials. Medivizor creates My Personal Space, where I find personally relevant, cutting-edge, medical science, including a personalized refresher-explaining your condition, treatment options, and matching clinical trials.
Let’s take a look at this clinical trial.
Like all other content on Medivizor, the clinical trial information is provided in easy to understand language, divided into sections so finding what you want to read is effortless.
The first section summarizes the clinical trial.
Here is the rationale behind the clinical trial.
Who do they need for the clinical trial?
What you will do on the clinical trial and what the hoped-for outcomes will be…
Locations and Sign-up
Finally, at the end of this description is the closest locations to your personal location where the trial is taking place. Since John Smith is located in Ohio, the closest clinical trial location is in Columbus, Ohio.
On the right hand side of your personal page is a panel where you can write notes about the clinical trial, you can share the clinical trial with your physician or on social media, you can let Medivizor know if the clinical trial is helpful to you, and you can discuss or ask a question about it.
Medivizor simplifies connecting people to clinical trials
Medivizor’s personalization technology makes finding and enrolling in clinical trials a simple and straightforward process. No more exhausting and frustrating searches! If you know anybody that may benefit from learning about the latest medical science, treatment options, and clinical trials relevant to them – let them know about Medivizor and suggest they sign up today.
