{"id":40,"date":"2025-10-13T21:45:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T21:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kpncresearch.wpenginepowered.com\/clinical-trials\/?page_id=40"},"modified":"2025-11-20T18:48:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T18:48:46","slug":"clinical-trials-explained","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/clinical-trials-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Clinical Trials Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\">[vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; el_class=&#8221;block-hero&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1760390304429{background-image: url(https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/hero-about.webp?id=38) !important;}&#8221;][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=&#8221;vc_col-lg-10&#8243;]<h1 class=\"vcex-heading vcex-heading-plain vcex-module wpex-heading wpex-text-2xl\"><span class=\"vcex-heading-inner wpex-inline-block\">Clinical Trials Explained<\/span><\/h1>[vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]\n<h2>What are Clinical Trials?<\/h2>\n<p>Clinical trials are an important way to discover better treatments and improve health care for everyone. They are research studies where volunteers partner with doctors and scientists to explore new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat a wide range of health conditions.<\/p>\n<p>The goal of a clinical trial is to find out if a new medicine or therapy is safe and effective. Some studies compare new treatments to current standard care, while others may use a placebo when no standard treatment exists.<\/p>\n<p>Participation is always your choice. If you decide not to join a trial, you\u2019ll still receive the best available care for your condition. Feel free to talk to your doctor if you have questions about clinical trials or want to learn more.<\/p>\n<p>By taking part, you\u2019re helping shape the future of medicine and offering hope to others.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/healthy.kaiserpermanente.org\/health-wellness\/health-encyclopedia\/he.clinical-trials.tv7019\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learn more about clinical trials<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=&#8221;vc_col-md-6&#8243;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]\n<h2>What to Expect as a Clinical Trial Participant<\/h2>\n<p>Your doctor will help determine if you\u2019re eligible to join a clinical trial. Each study has specific criteria to ensure safety and accuracy.<\/p>\n<p>If you qualify and choose to participate, you\u2019ll be asked to give your informed consent. From there, you\u2019ll follow a structured plan (called a protocol) that outlines exactly what will happen during the study including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A schedule of tests, doctor visits, and treatments<\/li>\n<li>Keeping a diary or notes about your experience<\/li>\n<li>Support from a dedicated care team, which may include doctors, nurses, social workers, and other health professionals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column offset=&#8221;vc_col-md-6&#8243;]<figure class=\"vcex-image vcex-module\"><div class=\"vcex-image-inner wpex-relative wpex-inline-block\"><img width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/p-participating.webp\" class=\"vcex-image-img wpex-align-middle\" alt=\"Old man and woman on a walk, talking\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/p-participating.webp 1920w, https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/p-participating-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/p-participating-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/p-participating-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/p-participating-1536x1024.webp 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/div><\/figure>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=&#8221;vc_col-lg-10&#8243;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]\n<h2>Your Safety and Rights in Clinical Trials<\/h2>\n<p>At Kaiser Permanente, your safety is our top priority. Every clinical trial we offer is carefully reviewed and monitored by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). This ensures that any risks are minimized and balanced with potential benefits.<\/p>\n<p>Clinical trials are held to the same high ethical and legal standards as routine medical care. They are also closely regulated by the FDA, with safeguards in place to protect your rights and ensure your well-being throughout the study. Researchers share study results with scientific communities and government agencies, but participant information is always kept confidential and never included in these reports.<\/p>\n<p>If you have questions or concerns at any point, you can ask your doctor or the clinical trial coordinator.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; el_class=&#8221;block-section bg-lte-grey&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]\n<h2>KP Study Search<\/h2>\n<p>KP Study Search was created to inform patients, caregivers and investigators about the ongoing clinical trials and research studies conducted at Kaiser Permanente.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/kpstudysearch.kaiser.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Find a study<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; el_class=&#8221;block-hero&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1760390304429{background-image: url(https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/hero-about.webp?id=38) !important;}&#8221;][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=&#8221;vc_col-lg-10&#8243;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;] What are Clinical Trials? Clinical trials are an important way to discover better treatments and improve health care for everyone. They are research studies where volunteers partner with doctors and scientists to explore new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat a wide range of health conditions. The&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-40","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry","no-media"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Clinical Trials Explained - Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/clinical-trials-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Clinical Trials Explained - Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; el_class=&#8221;block-hero&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1760390304429{background-image: url(https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/hero-about.webp?id=38) !important;}&#8221;][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=&#8221;vc_col-lg-10&#8243;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;] What are Clinical Trials? Clinical trials are an important way to discover better treatments and improve health care for everyone. They are research studies where volunteers partner with doctors and scientists to explore new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat a wide range of health conditions. The&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/clinical-trials-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-20T18:48:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/clinical-trials-explained\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/clinical-trials-explained\\\/\",\"name\":\"Clinical Trials Explained - Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-13T21:45:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-20T18:48:46+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/clinical-trials-explained\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/clinical-trials-explained\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/clinical-trials-explained\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Clinical Trials Explained\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/logo_2.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/logo_2.svg\",\"caption\":\"Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\\\/clinical-trials\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Clinical Trials Explained - Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/clinical-trials-explained\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Clinical Trials Explained - Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials","og_description":"[vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; el_class=&#8221;block-hero&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1760390304429{background-image: url(https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/hero-about.webp?id=38) !important;}&#8221;][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=&#8221;vc_col-lg-10&#8243;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;] What are Clinical Trials? Clinical trials are an important way to discover better treatments and improve health care for everyone. They are research studies where volunteers partner with doctors and scientists to explore new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat a wide range of health conditions. The&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/clinical-trials-explained\/","og_site_name":"Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials","article_modified_time":"2025-11-20T18:48:46+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/clinical-trials-explained\/","url":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/clinical-trials-explained\/","name":"Clinical Trials Explained - Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-10-13T21:45:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-20T18:48:46+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/clinical-trials-explained\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/clinical-trials-explained\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/clinical-trials-explained\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Clinical Trials Explained"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/#website","url":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/","name":"Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/#organization","name":"Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials","url":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/logo_2.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/logo_2.svg","caption":"Kaiser Permanente Northern California Clinical Trials"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research-ncal.kaiserpermanente.org\/clinical-trials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}