Our Commitment to Clinical Research Slocum-Dickson Medical Group (SDMG) has made a major commitment to performing quality clinical research by creating the Clinical Research Department in early 2003. Appropriate support and expertise will be provided to all of our physicians who want to participate in clinical research. Previously, only a few physicians had the necessary administrative support to conduct studies. By creating this new department, naming a Director of Clinical Research, and hiring an experienced Clinical Research Program Manager, our goal is to centralize the clinical research activities. We expect to… ensure the safety of subjects start studies rapidly increase recruitment activities complete study forms (CRFs, logs etc.) promptly and accurately maintain clinical research files standardize clinical research procedures throughout the facility ensure the quality of research that is performed at SDMG
		Director of Clinical Research: Daniel C. Goodman, MD is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and has been the Primary Investigator for many studies since 1998. Dr. Goodman completed his Residency/ Internship training at St. Vincent Hospital, Worchester, MA and medical school at SUNY Downstate Medical College, Brooklyn, NY. He has completed the 3-day ACRP Investigator Training Course. In September 2004, he was certified as a Clinical Trial Investigator by ACRP.

Clinical Research Program Manager: Jill Petro, BS, CCRA has worked in the clinical research field for 10 years at Johnson & Johnson and Novartis. From this perspective, she understands what study sponsors expect from a clinical research site. While at the pharmaceutical companies, Jill worked on drugs being evaluated in anemic orthopedic and cancer patients, in patients with multiple  sclerosis, and in patients with bacterial infections. She has extensive experience with Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVRS) and Electronic Data Capture (EDC). Jill has been developing our research department since March 2003.

Experience

SDMG is implementing activities to ensure study sponsors will be pleased with our involvement in their trails. Our goal is that sponsors and CROs will be impressed  with our work on their trial and  will ask us to participate in future studies. SDMG  physicians have performed Phase III and IV studies of the following conditions:

Asthma	Genetic material collection from subjects with a variety of diseases
Cancer	Atrial fibrillation
Epilepsy	Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy
Hypercholesterolemia	Erectile Dysfunction
Hypertension	Overactive Bladder
Respiratory Tract Infection	Pediatric vaccines
Rheumatoid Arthritis	Migraine
Sleep	Multiple Sclerosis
Type II Diabetes	Kidney Disease (pre-dialysis)

Investigator Specialties

There are approximately 60 physicians at SDMG covering a wide range of specialties. Physician biographies can be found on our website. The following is a list of the American Board certifications held by our  physicians:

• Allergy & Immunology
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Critical Care
• Dermatology
• Electrodiagnostic Medicine
• Endocrinology & Metabolism
• Family Practice
• Foot Surgery
• Hematology
• Internal Medicine
• Medical Oncology
• Neurosurgery
• Obstetrics & Gynecology

• Ophthalmology
• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Otolaryngology
• Psychiatry & Neurology
• Pediatrics
• Plastic Surgery
• Pulmonary Medicine
• Radiology
• Rheumatology
• Sleep Medicine
• Sports Medicine
• Surgery
• Urology

Facilities & Equipment

As a convenience to our patients, and now an advantage when conducting clinical research studies, SDMG provides a wide variety of services at their main location.

Contract Process

SDMG recognizes that contract execution is often the rate-limiting factor to initiating a clinical research study. Our intent is to streamline this process. We strive to return our comments within 2 weeks of receiving an initial draft of the contract and budget. Once agreement is reached, only one SDMG signature is required on contracts, and this is usually obtained in less than 1 week after receiving the final version of the contract.

Patient Population

The combination of the electronic medical record system and the electronic billing system at SDMG allows for searches of basic patient criteria. For the 18-month period between October 2001 and March 2003, the demographics for patients seen at SDMG are listed  below.

TOTAL ACTIVE PATIENTS:  79,155

As soon as the basic entry criteria are known, we can query our database to determine the approximate number of study subjects that are in our system.  We will gladly share these results with the sponsor of the study.

Institutional Review Board

For most studies, SDMG is able to use a Central IRB. If a study will require an inpatient component, then we will submit the study to the appropriate local hospital for approval. There are three hospitals within a 3 mile radius of SDMG. These local reviews do require additional time when compared to a Central IRB, but they generally review and approve studies within 2 months.

Location

The main SDMG headquarters is located in New Hartford, NY (next to Utica) and is less than 10 minutes off the NY State Thruway (Route 90). Syracuse is about 1 hour to the west, and Albany is about 1 1/2 hours to the east. There are several hotels in the local area. With appropriate notice, we can provide a conference room with a telephone, electrical outlet, and computer line for use during the monitoring visits. Please take a glance at our web site to get more information on our facility, physicians, directions, and area hotels.

Slocum-Dickson Medical Group

Slocum-Dickson Medical Group is one of the largest multi-specialty groups in New York State. The practice includes 25 specialties, approximately 375 staff members, and is still growing. SDMG expanded their existing building at 1729 Burrstone Rd, New Hartford, NY in 2001. Along with the new addition, we have added more physicians and more support staff. This is our flagship location, the hub for other satellite locations in Herkimer, Rome, and Utica, New York.

SDMG has been recognized for their superior performance from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). MGMA helps to improve the effectiveness of medical group practices and the knowledge and skills of the individuals who manage/lead them.

The practice has also achieved accreditation by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). Ambulatory health care organizations or physicians who do ambulatory surgery in their office and seek accreditation by AAAHC undergo an extensive on-site, peer-based survey of its facilities and services. Accreditation is a commitment to provide the highest possible levels of quality care.

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