$4.8 million grant will make it easier for patients to participate in clinical trials in South Carolina

The University of South Carolina's Center for Healthcare Quality has received a $4.8 million Grand Opportunity (GO) Grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish a Research Permissions Management System that will make it easier for patients to participate in clinical research trials in South Carolina.

The HSSC-supported Center is developing a statewide internet-based research network that will enable patients to identify and volunteer for clinical research trials in the state, receive notifications of future research trials related to their condition and protect their personal health information. They may also donate tissue samples for research. The Research Permissions Management System will enable researchers to manage legal, ethical, social, and bioinformatics requirements.

HSSC President and CEO Jay Moskowitz said the system will open the door to more treatment options to people suffering from life-threatening disease. "Clinical research trials are often the last bastion of hope. Patients and family members are looking to the Internet for a medical lifeline. It is our goal to extend the lifeline to more people in and outside of South Carolina with the statewide Research Permission Management System."