Participating in research

The Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa conducts approximately two thousand different medical and health care research projects on an ongoing basis. Sometimes these research projects may require patients to clinically prove the effect of a new treatment procedure or a pharmaceutical product. Participation in a research project is voluntary. The research programmes usually involve a few appointments with a doctor or a research nurse; these generally involve no fees for the patient.

 

 

The Medical Research Act (488/1999) explicitly states that ”no payment shall be made for participating in the research to the research subjects, their guardians, close relatives, any other persons closely connected with them, or to their legal representative. 

 

However, an appropriate remuneration may be paid in respect of expenses or loss of earnings or for any other inconvenience suffered as a result of the research. Grounds on which payment may be made are laid down by the relevant ministry.” The purpose of legislation is to safeguard the high quality and ethics of scientific research on the one hand and to protect the patient’s rights on the other.