Patients and health professionals working together to improve clinical research: Where are we going?

The pace of active involvement of patients in clinical research has increased over the last 10–15 years. Advocacy for this engagement between patients and health professionals is briefly traced, based on the author’s experiences both as an independent advocate and as co-founder and chairman (1995–1999) of the Consumers’ Advisory Group for Clinical Trials (CAG-CT). A brief history is outlined. As the benefits and minor drawbacks of collaborative working have become increasingly evident, attitudes have changed and methodologies have developed. A new professionalism in relationships with doctors is being sought: common vocabularies need to be defined. Some research governance problems are identified: forward thinking to solve them is advocated.