Physicians today have enormous time constraints and in many instances have too much going on in their own private practice to consider working as a clinical research investigator. Interestingly only 8% of patients in the United States who participate in clinical trials learn about the drug study from their personal physician. Moreso then not, they learn about trials through the media (35%), through the internet (11%), or through word-of-mouth.

For physicians who enjoy the opportunity to learn and being a part of the process in advancing new medications, it can be very rewarding. The type of “hands-on” experience you have working with medications before they are approved on the market is invaluable and can help you become a better physician when you must actually prescribe a new treatment. Not only will your knowledge base expand, but potentially you may attract new patient referrals to your practice and provide new challenges for yourself and your staff. Being a clinical investigator provides value for your patients because they now will have “ready access” to new procedures and investigational medications that they otherwise may not have known about. Financially, you may be able to supplement your income if you are able to conduct studies efficiently.

Of course there are risks and other considerations when you start as a clinical investigator. By virtue of working with investigational medications it is possible a patient may have an adverse event, become ill or worse with the drug. Provided you stay away from drugs that you aren’t comfortable with or consider too risky, stay away from studies that aren’t within your therapeutic expertise, you conduct the study properly and adhere to the inclusion/exclusion criteria, then the chances of getting involved in any legal matters is diminished. Typically sponsoring pharmaceutical companies provide indemnification, which hold the physicians harmless against any claims that are direct result of the medication or the procedures defined within the study protocol.

Operationally other considerations you must think about are:

1. Do you have the time to commit?
2. Do you have the available staff who are skilled and able to conduct studies?
3. Do you know how to find clinical study opportunities?
4. How much training is involved?
5. How will I recruit for study volunteers?
6. Do I have available space and equipment required to conduct research?
7. Will my current malpractice cover my work in clinical research?
8. What other challenges will I face…fear of the unknown?
9. Can I afford to do research…will I lose money?

All these concerns plus additional industry-wide trends like the expansion of clinical studies being conducted in other countries has actually led to a 11.4% decline in the number of investigators in the United States. Turnover rates have nearly doubled and nearly ½ of all the new investigators in the U.S. in 2000 have chosen not to conduct another study. These facts actually threaten the clinical research industry in the U.S. because there is a smaller pool of well-trained and experienced physicians who are able to conduct studies.

Working with Coastal Carolina Research Center and the 10 years of experience we have already earned, may provide local Lowcountry physicians an opportunities which minimize some of the risks and obstacles of conducting research on your own and still provide an avenue to become a part of the industry.

Click here and learn about working with Coastal Carolina Research Center as an investigator.