Thousands turning to medical research for free health care

SALT LAKE CITY — In a tough economy, people may have a difficult time paying for food and shelter, let alone medical insurance and doctor visits.

Some people have found a creative way to get free medical care and earn some extra cash at the same time.

When West Jordan resident Elizabeth Bates was in high school, she knew she needed her wisdom teeth removed. "I knew it needed to be done, and I thought 'I'm getting paid for it,'" she said.

Bates earned $225 per side by signing up with JeanBrown Research to have her wisdom teeth removed. At the time, the company was conducting a pain medication clinical trial following wisdom teeth extraction.

"We can put 500 patients on a dental study," said Denise Roberts, clinical director for Jean Brown Research. "Right now, we have 700 people on a waiting list."

Thousands more have already volunteered themselves for hundreds of medical studies that are going on right now, and many of those studies are for everyday ailments.

"We have psoriasis, Hepatitis C, colitis, migraine, diabetes, wound care, asthma, cold, cough, flu, infant formula," Roberts said, ticking off a list of some of the clinical trials that are under way or will soon be starting.

In addition to being paid for your time and trouble, advocates say it's one of the best ways to get people who do not have insurance into the health care system.

"Once they get into the doctor, we have a way to get them into the health care system," said Janet Lewis, president of J Lewis Research.

"Through research, we have found people with high cholesterol (and) problems with their thyroid," Lewis explained. "They wouldn't normally have an X-ray. We've done that and found lung cancer." That's because volunteers undergo more testing than a person normally would because of protocol requirements.

Research companies like J Lewis Research and Jean Brown Research are often hired by pharmaceutical companies to test a drug. "A lot of our clients are sponsors, pharma-companies that have already found a drug. They want to get it FDA approved," Roberts said.

Oftentimes, those companies contract with physicians or physician's assistants to lead the study.

"A group of other podiatrists in the valley got together and organized a group called Mountain West Foot and Ankle," Dr. Steven Royall, a Salt Lake City podiatrist, explained. "Part of our group was to solicit research opportunities through clinical research companies like Jean Brown."