A clinical trial is a research study that looks to find the best way to deliver patient care. Whether the trial is studying a new drug or treatment, the end goal is to discover better healthcare practices.
New treatments help to advance medical care, but must be proven safe and effective before they are given to patients. The purpose of clinical trials is to answer the question of whether these new treatments are safe and effective.Clinical trials may be observational or interventional. In observational studies, researchers do not change patient care, but rather seek to describe a disease or disorder in its natural state. Interventional studies involve giving a group of patients a treatment or intervention, in order to determine the safety and effectiveness of that treatment.