Atlantic Health System Launches New Website to Educate Patients and Physicians about Clinical Trials & Research

MORRISTOWN, N.J., June 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlantic Health System has launched a new website that provides information about open and enrolling clinical trials and research studies across Atlantic Health System medical centers. The tablet and smartphone-friendly website, atlantichealth.org/research, features a search tool that allows visitors to easily find trials based on disease area, keywords, and the name of physicians conducting trials.

Atlantic Health System, which includes Morristown, Overlook, Chilton, and Newton Medical Centers, has an enduring research history with primary areas focused on cardiology, oncology, neurology, and pediatric endocrinology and gastroenterology. Morristown and Overlook medical centers are one of few hospitals selected to participate in groundbreaking clinical trials to treat different types of heart disease, advanced cancers, including women's cancers and melanoma skin cancer, and movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

"Atlantic Health System is expanding geographically and in the types of services we offer," says Jan Schwarz-Miller, MD, MPH, vice-president of Quality, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Research Officer and Chief Academic Officer, Atlantic Health System. "We recognize our role as the leading health care provider in the region, and part of this responsibility is remaining committed to offering our patients and communities the most advanced-treatment and diagnostic options."

Clinical trials provide patients with early access to promising new treatments and are considered the highest standard of care. In addition to treatment trials, Atlantic Health System medical centers routinely participate in screening studies in an effort to adopt a preventative approach to medicine that helps catch disease in its earliest stage.

With more patients turning to the web for medical information and education, Atlantic Health System understands the importance of providing both patients and physicians the resource they need to have an informed conversation about health choices.

"We want to create a platform that helps both patients and doctors identify available clinical trial options at our hospitals," explains Eric Whitman, MD, FACS, medical director of Atlantic Center for Research, Carol G. Simon Cancer Centers, and the Atlantic Melanoma Center. "We're proud of our clinical research programs, and this website will help our physicians and the communities we serve take full advantage of everything we have to offer."

Visit atlantichealth.org/research to learn more about clinical trials and research studies at Atlantic Health System medical centers. Patients and physicians are also encouraged to follow Atlantic Center for Research on Twitter (@NJResearch) for research news and updates.

SOURCE Atlantic Health System