How to join a study
Taking part in a clinical study is a real decision, not a sign-up. This page explains what the steps actually are, what xMedica can do for you at each one, and — just as important — what it cannot.
1. Find studies
Start by describing your condition in your own words, or search the registry records directly. You do not need to know the medical term: search for heart and we also look for the clinical terms a registry would use, such as myocardial infarction.
- You can search in your own language — we detect it, search in English, and show you exactly what was searched.
- Narrow by Recruits users now, country, phase, therapeutic area, or whether the study pays users.
- Every result carries small signals: whether a contact is listed, whether the study is claimed by its manager on xMedica, and whether payment is offered.
2. See whether you might fit
Every study sets out who it can accept — its eligibility criteria. We show them on the study page, along with the study’s design, its sites, and when the record was last confirmed by the sponsor.
Two cautions worth taking seriously. First, matching the criteria on paper does not mean you will be accepted: the study team decides who can take part, after their own assessment. Second, registry records can be out of date — where a record has not been confirmed in a long time we mark it as such, and we always link to the original registry entry, which is the authoritative source.
3. Talk to your own doctor
Before you contact a study, talk it through with the doctor who treats you. They know your history, your current treatment, and what a trial would mean for it. xMedica does not give medical advice and is not a substitute for that conversation.
4. Tell the study you are interested
On any search result, open the menu and choose “I want to participate”. We record your interest and send a message on your behalf. Where that message goes depends on the study, and we tell you which case you are in:
- The study is claimed — its manager has an account here and receives your message directly.
- The registry lists a contact — we send it to that contact.
- Neither — we notify our own team, and we say plainly that we cannot promise the study will reply.
Sending a message does not enrol you in anything and commits you to nothing. You can change your mind at any point, including after you have spoken to the study team.
5. Let study teams contact you
You can allow study teams to reach out to you about taking part. This is off unless you turn it on, and you can turn it off again at any time from your profile.
Contact is mediated by us: a study team never receives your email address, and only people who have opted in appear to them at all.
6. Keep your records in one place
You can upload your medical records — a PDF, a photo of a letter, a discharge summary — to your profile. We read the text out of them so you can find things later.
Your records are private. They are shared with a study’s manager only if you explicitly switch sharing on, and you can switch it off again. Uploading records is entirely optional, and nothing else on the site depends on it.
7. Stay informed
Most people are not looking for a study today so much as waiting for the right one to open. You can be told when that happens:
- Follow a study and we email you when its record changes — a status change, a new site, posted results.
- Save a condition from a search and we email you when new studies match it.
- New trials and new drugs — separate switches for a digest of newly registered studies in your fields and the new treatments being tested.
- Follow a topic without an account at all, from the homepage.
Everything is per-switch and reversible; every email we send carries a way out, and unsubscribing from promotional email never affects the account or security messages you need.
About payment
Some studies offer to pay participants, typically for time and travel, sometimes at set points such as enrolling or completing. On search results we show only whether a study offers payment — never an amount. We do that deliberately: a figure shown next to a medical decision is an inducement, and that is not what this site is for.
Any payment is entirely at the trial manager’s discretion. They may decide, for any reason, to pay or not to pay, and nothing shown here is an offer, promise or guarantee of payment. xMedica never pays you and never charges you.
What to watch out for
- You should not be asked to pay for the treatment being studied. A legitimate trial does not charge you for the intervention it is testing. Treat a request for payment as a reason to stop and ask questions.
- Informed consent is a document, not a formality. You should be given it in writing, be able to take it away, ask questions, and take your time.
- You can leave a study at any time, for any reason, without giving one and without it affecting your usual care.
- A listing here is not a recommendation. We publish registry records; we do not vet, endorse or rank the studies in them.
See the full disclaimer for what we do and do not stand behind.
Questions worth asking the study team
- Why is this study being done, and what is being tested?
- What will I have to do, how often, and for how long?
- What are the possible risks and side effects, and the possible benefits?
- What treatment would I get if I did not take part?
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Who pays for the study treatment, tests and travel? Will anything cost me money?
- Who is running and funding the study, and who reviewed it?
- What happens to my care, and my data, if I stop or the study ends?
- Who do I call if something goes wrong?
What xMedica is, and is not
We aggregate public clinical trial records from the world’s registries and make them searchable and watchable. We are not a clinic, we do not provide medical advice or treatment, we do not enrol anyone in anything, and we are not the sponsor of any study listed here. Decisions about your care belong to you and your doctor; decisions about who joins a study belong to the study team.