“Although clinical trials are an important way to learn “what works and what doesn’t work,” notes National Institutes of Health (NIH) director, Francis Collins, MD, PhD, they currently aren’t operating to their full potential. Recognizing this, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced new requirements for registering and recording trial results on its clinicaltrials.gov website with an eye toward driving better patient participation and increased information sharing [improve access to clinical trials].  One big problem has been that patients and practitioners alike have difficulty locating the appropriate trials. Collins explains that the new federal policy should make this information more accessible: “It tells you what the trial is about, what kind of individuals would qualify, what exclusions, who’s the person to contact … all that information is there.”  Additionally, all trials must be registered in the clinicaltrials.gov database within 21 days of the first participant enrolling. Third-party sites will also be able to spread the information to their constituencies through a new application programming interface, allowing patient advocacy groups, cancer centers, and researchers to build web applications and search engines to improve access to clinical trials”. – Allie Casey for Oncology Nursing News, edited & excerpted from her article, “New Policy Unveiled to Improve Access to Clinical Trials and Dissemination of Results”, click here to read the article in its entirety.