A new policy brief from Health Affairs and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) examines past and present initiatives to improve the use of clinical research for patients, providers, and health systems. According to one estimate, up to half of all completed clinical trials have never had their results published — especially those that did not have positive findings.
Furthermore, a significant percentage of trials used by drug companies to support their approval applications to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were not made publicly available. Some companies have failed to adequately report study findings to regulatory agencies, resulting in fines. Although previous efforts to address these issues have failed, recent policy initiatives both in the United States and in other countries offer new opportunities to solve some of these problems.
The brief outlines past and current efforts to increase transparency in clinical research by groups that include the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the FDA. As the brief explains, past efforts achieved limited results for a variety of reasons. The brief also describes current efforts under way to improve access to trial data including those by the AllTrials campaign, the European Medicines Agency, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
About Health Policy Briefs
Health Policy Briefs are aimed at policymakers, congressional staffers, and others needing short, jargon-free explanations of health policy basics. The briefs, which are reviewed by experts in the field, include competing arguments on policy proposals and the relevant research supporting each perspective.
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from Health Affairs Blog http://ift.tt/1WnvYlA
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