The Role of Research In Medicine
Medical research and clinical medicine go hand-in-hand as research works to make physicians more advanced and accurate: the two industries ultimately improve patient care, better outcomes, and a deeper understanding of human health and disease. Unfortunately, it can come with challenges and questions for the future of the field.
Before the interactions between medical research and medical practice can be understood, it is important to explore the types of medical research. As explained by the NIH, the “three main areas of medical research can be distinguished by study type: basic (experimental), clinical, and epidemiological research.” Experimental research unravels the intricate molecular mechanisms underlying physiological processes, laying the groundwork for clinical discoveries. Clinical research then translates these findings into practical applications, evaluating the safety and efficacy of interventions. Epidemiological research acts as the bridge, connecting laboratory findings to real-world patient care.
The impact of medical research on healthcare is often hidden, but ever so important. Medical research can provide important information about “disease trends and risk factors, outcomes of treatment or public health interventions, functional abilities, patterns of care, and health care costs and use. The different approaches to research provide complementary insights.” This can be seen in the early days of synthetic drugs when penicillin was first found. At this time, pills were worshiped as panaceas for whatever they were supposed to treat. However, as clinical experience revealed a more nuanced picture; the efficacy of drugs increasingly had to be balanced against side effects and other factors, including the development of resistance to antibiotics and eventually cost. These factors put the onus on doctors to make appropriate prescriptions, making it necessary for doctors to know about the benefits and side effects of drugs and the results of clinical research. Beyond the laboratory, medical research facilitates personalized medicine, tailoring interventions to individual characteristics.
Yet, amidst the promise and progress, challenges persist. Many research institutions still lack adequate funding, leading to private organizations having to lobby for favorable laws and policies. Ethical considerations, including patient safety and informed consent, are also often an issue. The future of medical research holds the key to unlocking new dimensions in healthcare—overcoming these challenges will be the next step in realizing its full potential.
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Hunter, Philip. “Research and Practice Coming Together.” EMBO Reports, vol. 13, no. 2, 13 Jan. 2012, pp. 109–112, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3271344/, https://doi.org/10.1038/embor.2011.258. Accessed 29 Dec. 2023.
Bernd Röhrig, et al. “Types of Study in Medical Research.” Deutsches Arzteblatt International, 10 Apr. 2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2689572/#:~:text=Three%20main%20areas%20of%20medical,%2C%20clinical%2C%20and%20epidemiological%20research., https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2009.0262. Accessed 29 Dec. 2023.
Nass, Sharyl J, et al. “The Value, Importance, and Oversight of Health Research.” Nih.gov, National Academies Press (US), 2023, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9571/#:~:text=It%20can%20provide%20important%20information,to%20research%20provide%20complementary%20insights. Accessed 29 Dec. 2023.
