The core purpose of the Sandhills Multi-Institutional Review Board is to protect the rights of patients who might enter into clinical trials. IRBs review research protocols that involve human subjects to ensure the ethical and safe treatment of study participants.

All federally funded clinical trials and trials to evaluate a new drug or medical device subject to Food and Drug Administration regulation must be reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB).

The Sandhills Multi-Institutional Review Board is the local IRB, which oversees all clinical trials conducted for all FirstHealth entities and Carolina Eye Associates. The Sandhills Multi Institutional Review Board includes doctors, researchers, community leaders and other members of the community. They review the protocol to make sure the study is conducted fairly and participants are not likely to be harmed. In addition, they also determine how often to review the trial once it has begun. Based on this information, the IRB decides whether the clinical trial should continue as initially planned and, if not, what changes should be made.

The Sandhills Multi-Institutional Review Board can stop a clinical trial if the researcher is not following the protocol or if the trial appears to be causing unexpected harm to the participants. In addition, if the participants experience severe side effects, or there is other evidence that the risks outweigh the benefits, The Sandhills Multi-Institutional Review Board will recommend that the trial be stopped early.

For more information on The Sandhills Multi- Institutional Review Board call (910) 715-2200.

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