Online database helps Albertans enrol in clinical trials

The University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services have teamed up for a campaignencouraging Albertans to sign up for clinical trials.

With hundreds ofclinical trials already underway in the province,the Be the Cure campaign is using anonline databaseto connect patients, doctors and researchersto find ways to detect diseasesand test new treatments.

Dr. Michael Hill told the Homestretchhow clinical trials are making advancements in medicine and how Albertanscan get involved.

The following is an excerpt from that interview:

Q: What areclinical trials and why are they important?

A: Clinical trialsare the way we assess and understand new treatments, diagnostic strategiesor surgeries in medicine to know if they're actually effective in treating patients.

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And there are differenttiers or level of trials before new treatments are accepted for routine use.

Q: How many clinical trials are going on in the province at any given time?

A: Hundreds. We function both as a site [for trials run out of province] and in other cases, we're the organizing sitewhere we're the ones recruiting other hospitals to run trials that we want to do.

Q: How has this new online tool changed how people sign up for trials?

A: It very much depends on the details of the trial.

Clinical trials are a big organizational effort and so management of information and getting access to peopleis critical.

In the province we are part of a national strategy called the Strategy for Patient Oriented Research, or SPORand so we're trying to organize information so that physicians know what trials are ongoing and also so patients know.

So we want patients to register, we want physicians to know what's going onand then, if we can sum it up, what's happening nationally.

Q: How long has this been up and running and what's been the response?

A: Well it's gradually picking up momentum. I learned that we've had 3,000 hits on the website lastweek.

We're trying to build this in tiers so we're trying to link all these things together. So we'll have connections where patients can be involved but we also need to connect the researchers, we need to connect people in the hospitals.

Q: Is there potential for this to be expanded beyond Alberta?

A: I think it's building on what's happening globally.

Certainly when we're leading clinical trials, we look internationally for sites and hospitals that would be interested in participating. That also applies to patients.

To find out more about clinical trials happening in Alberta, visit www.bethecure.ca.

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With files from the Homestretch