Govt wants more clinical trial results made public

The government proposed new rules Wednesday to make it easier for doctors and patients to learn if clinical trials of treatments worked or not.

Thousands of Americans participate in clinical trials every year, testing new treatments, comparing old ones or helping to uncover general knowledge about health. Many of the studies are reported in scientific journals and trumpeted in the news. But results aren't always made public, especially studies that fail.

National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins says that's not acceptable. Under the new proposals, all clinical trials funded by NIH would have to reveal summaries of their results on a public database: www.clinicaltrials.gov . So would certain other studies under an expansion of Food and Drug Administration rules.

The proposals are open for public comment through Feb. 19.