Good Clinical Practice — What It Means in Clinical Trials
Plain English Definition
Good Clinical Practice (GCP) is an international set of ethical and scientific quality standards for designing, conducting, and reporting clinical trials. GCP ensures that participant rights, safety, and well-being are protected and that the trial data is credible. All legitimate clinical trials must follow GCP guidelines.
Why It Matters
GCP is your assurance that a trial is being run properly. If a trial follows GCP (and all registered trials must), it means rigorous standards are in place for your safety and for the integrity of the data.
Example
A trial document will state: "This study will be conducted in accordance with the principles of Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GCP)."
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