• Plan ahead and write down possible questions to ask.
• Ask a friend or relative to come along for support and to hear the responses to the questions.
• Bring a tape recorder to record the discussion to replay later.

Every clinical trial in the U.S. must be approved and monitored by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) to make sure

the risks are as low as possible and are worth any potential benefits. An IRB is an independent committee of

physicians, statisticians, community advocates, and others that ensures that a clinical trial is ethical and the

rights of study participants are protected. All institutions that conduct or support biomedical research involving

people must, by federal regulation, have an IRB that initially approves and periodically reviews the research.