Imagine a scenario where accessing cutting-edge clinical trials is as simple as visiting your doctor’s office, allowing an everyday setting to serve as the starting point for groundbreaking medical advancements. This model is exactly what the Canadian Research (CaRe) Clinic intends to deploy provincially, hoping that all Albertans, regardless of their local, will have access to state-of-the-art care.
“The end goal is to empower patients by presenting research as a treatment option,” explains Troy Hamilton, Director of Operations—CaRe Clinic. “This allows individuals to take charge of their healthcare journey and choose what’s best for them, in collaboration with the healthcare providers.”
As Troy outlines, how this is actualized is quite multi-factorial. However, one of the key roles CaRe plays is reducing the administrative burden on physicians who wish to engage in clinical trials by assuming the overhead management of research, allowing participating clinicians to focus on clinical oversight. This is especially helpful, considering the demands placed on community physicians, many of whom cope with record-number caseloads and limited resources to support their practices.
“The goal is to enable physicians to do what they’ve been trained to do by allowing CaRe Clinic to manage everything ancillary to the research.”
Currently, CaRe Clinic operates out of Calgary and Red Deer and actively manages 27 clinical trials within Alberta, spanning a range of specialties, including dermatology, neurology (migraine research), women’s health, endocrinology, rheumatology, infectious diseases, and vaccine studies. Within the next five years, the clinic hopes to expand to additional sites (specifically Edmonton, Grand Prairie, and Lethbridge) so that most Albertan residents can theoretically access clinical trials within a one-hour drive of their homes.
Troy and his colleagues hope their services and model will help profile clinical trials as a realistic treatment option for more patients and boost the inclusion of community populations in clinical trials. This can help address recruitment challenges, particularly for rare diseases, and overcome barriers to participant diversity. However, the benefit of a robust clinical research ecosystem extends beyond patient care.
“Ultimately, including clinical trials in care is advantageous for everyone. It improves patient care and outcomes, our healthcare system and creates jobs within our local economy. The impact is full circle: As larger pharmaceutical sponsors set up research regionally, we can expect the smaller biotechnology community to follow suit.”
CaRe Clinic is willing to connect with patients, clinicians, or sponsors regarding clinical trial interests and can be reached through the Contact Us section of their website. If you want to be introduced to Troy Hamilton, email info@clinicaltrialsab.ca.
