Before your visit, study staff will provide you with instructions about the location and time of your visit, as well as instructions for any forms or records you should bring or review before the visit. Allow yourself an extra 10-15 minutes to get here for your visit. OHSU can be confusing to navigate so giving yourself some extra time will help you find where to park and where our clinic is located.

It is our priority to keep all of our research participants safe. All research at OHSU is reviewed and monitored by formal Institutional Review Boards. The role of these review boards is to ensure that participants are treated ethically and that safety is prioritized. Before you consent to joining a study, the study coordinator will discuss any risks or benefits related to your study involvement, and you will be able to discuss any questions you have with the study team and the study physician before you choose to participate.

Every study is a little different. Sometimes participation will last for only one visit and other times we will be seeing you periodically for a year or more. Most importantly, you can choose to end your participation in a study at any time. If you decide you no longer want to participate in a study, you can inform our study team and we will take the proper steps to discontinue you from the study. Study participation is always voluntary and the Informed Consent document you sign when you begin a study is not the same as a contract. 

We offer study visits between 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday. Occasionally, a study visit is especially time sensitive and may require you to come in on a weekend, evening or holiday. Off hour visits are only for time-sensitive studies and are not based on study coordinator or participant preference. 

Each study has a total compensation that is divided among visits based on what occurs during that visit. For example, your may have seen that you can "earn up to $1,000." This means that if you attend attend all visits you will receive $1,000. Some of the individual visits may have varying compensation amounts, such as $25 for a basic visit and $50 for a more involved visit. Upon completion of a study visit, you will receive payment via a debit card. If you partially complete a study, the amount of compensation you receive will depend on the compensation amount of the individual visits that you attend.

We appreciate when our research participants are interested in our findings! Every study is different and sometimes it can take several years for study results to be finalized. However, if a research participant is interested in receiving results, we will do out best to share those findings with you when they become available. If you receive medical tests as part of your involvement in the research study, your results will be shared with you. 

Generally speaking, no, you do not need insurance to participate in any of our research study and you or your insurance will not be billed for study visits. Occasionally, condition-specific studies may require that you have already been diagnosed with the condition being studied. If you have not received a diagnosis, you may be asked to see a doctor on your own time before you can be considered for the study and this visit would be billed to you and/or your insurance. 

We understand that life can sometimes be unpredictable. Rescheduling a visit is fine but we ask that you give us as much notice as possible, preferably 24 hours, so that we can adjust our clinic and staff scheduling accordingly. 

It's very important to us that you feel comfortable during your study visits. If there is something you will need, please let us know ahead of time and we will do our very best to accommodate your requests. In terms of requesting a doctor (female, male, or a specific doctor), due to scheduling constraints we are not always able to guarantee that you will be seen by the provider of your choice. However, having your schedule with you at your appointment and a willingness to schedule in advance can help us get you the doctor you prefer.

Payment received as compensation for participation in research is considered taxable income for a research participant.  If payments are more than $600 in any one calendar year, OHSU is required to report this information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Research participant  payments exceeding $600 during any calendar year will result in a 1099 (Miscellaneous Income) form being issued to the research participant and a copy will be sent to the IRS.

If you do not have a social security number (SSN) or an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), there is an added 24% tax that will be applied to your compensation at the time of payment. In order to ensure your compensation for participating is the same as participants with a SSN/ITIN, the study will cover the cost of this tax for all compensation less than $600. In the same way participants with a SSN/ITIN are taxed, if your compensation is more than $600 the 24% tax will be applied to your payment and your total check amount will be 24% less.

El pago recibido como compensación por la participación en la investigación se considera ingreso sujeto a impuesto para un participante en investigación. Si los pagos recibidos son más de los $600 en cualquier año  calendario, OHSU debe entregar esta información al Servicio de Impuestos Internos (IRS- por sus siglas en Ingles). Pagos a los participantes en la investigación que  excedan $600 durante cualquier año calendario, resultara en la entrega de la Forma  1099 (Ingresos varios) a los participantes en investigación y  una copia será enviada  al IRS.

Si usted no tiene un número de seguro social (SSN- por sus siglas en Ingles) o un número de identificación de contribuyente individual (ITIN- por sus siglas en Ingles)un impuesto adicional del 24% que se aplicará a su compensación al momento del pago. Para garantizar que su compensación por participar sea la misma que la de los participantes con un SSN/ITIN, el estudio cubrirá el costo de este impuesto por todas las compensaciones menores de $600. De la misma manera, los participantes con un SSN/ITIN están sujetos a impuestos, si su compensación es mayor de $600, el impuesto del 24% se le aplicará  a su pago y el monto total de su cheque será 24% menor.

Will I have to pay for parking?

No, as a study participant you are like any other OHSU patient and so you will not need to pay for parking.

Parking can be daunting at OHSU but we're here to help! The best place to park in relation to our clinic is in the Physician's Pavilion parking garage. As you drive toward Multnomah Pavilion, the parking garage will be on your right. You can self-park, or take advantage of OHSU's complementary valet parking service. Additionally, if you have frequent visits for your study, we can direct you to our reserved parking space for our participants.

No, we have complementary tram passes that we can provide you if you'll be coming from the South Waterfront. If you would like a tram pass for your first visit, you will need to tell us several days in advance so that we can mail you a pass.

More information about the Portland Aerial Tram.

For those of you who have visited OHSU in the winter, you know that it can sometimes be a challenge to get up the hill. However, OHSU does a great job of keeping our employees, participants, and patients up-to-date with the OHSU Alert Line. If you have any doubts about how weather conditions will affect your ability to get to your appointment, call 503-494-9021.

Yes, kids are always welcome to come to visits. Any exceptions to this will be discussed with you in advance of the study visit. If you do plan on bringing your children (especially young children) please let your coordinator know ahead of time so that arrangements can be made. We usually try to have two coordinators available at these visits to ensure that the visit goes smoothly for everyone involved.