(Circulation. 2000;101:e9021-a.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.
Cardiovascular News |
New National Institutes of Health Website Helps Locate Clinical Trials
Awebsite launched by the National Institutes of Health will link patients and clinical trials. The new site (http://clinicaltrials.gov/) is the government’s first attempt to make information about medical studies easily available to consumers.
The website will contain information on >4000 federal and private medical studies taking place at >47 000 locations nationwide. Of the 4000 studies, officials estimate that 2800 are actively recruiting patients. The Acting Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Ruth L. Kirschstein, MD, said, "Through this new database, NIH offers up-to-date information on promising patient-oriented research on hundreds of diseases and conditions. Most of the 4000 clinical trials now in the database are funded by NIH Institutes and Centers and result from a long, fruitful partnership between NIH and the American people who support and participate in our work."
Donald A. Lindberg, MD, director of the NIH’s National Library of Medicine, helped develop and currently administers the new database. He said the clinical trial database will not only meet the needs of patients, but advance the cause of science as well. "If we are to continue making the giant strides in diagnosis, treatment, and cure of illness that marked the last century, we must have active participation in clinical trials by well-informed volunteers. clinicaltrials.gov is a resource that will benefit trial participants, researchers, healthcare professionals and, over time, the general public."
In 1997, Congress passed legislation requiring the US Department of
Health and Human Services to develop mechanisms to give the public
broad access to