It only takes one time to be critically ill and asked to participate in a clinical trial to understand how overwhelming and stressful it can be for someone who is hearing about a clinical trial for the first time in there life. They are told by their physicians that the clinical trial may be beneficial to them. So they believe the physician. After all, he knows best right? He only has your best interest in mind right? So you sit down for the informed consent process and there are about 30 pages to the consent form. You just want this to be over so you or your legal authorized representative (LAR) just sign the informed consent form (ICF). Meanwhile you leave the clinic wondering what you have gotten yourself into.
This is the time when your clinical trial patient needs an advocate. They need to know that someone who is totally removed from the study can explain the clinical trial process and lay out all of their options.
Patients don’t want to feel like a lab animal. They want to know they have truly chosen the best option for them and not just the best option for the investigator or the clinical trial site.