Furthermore, Williams suggests that compliance is best measured by using patients as their own control.

Using "standardized patients" - actors and others trained to portray sick people - has now become standard procedure.

But how can I justify using patients as a part of these students' training, rather than having patients treated by the most experienced medical personnel available?

But in 2005, drug using patients accounted for more than 50%.

Their not-a-dot-com proposal involves testing drugs using computer software rather than real patients, saving time and money for pharmaceutical companies.

For a "pure" analysis of the difference between the two agents, an analysis was done using only patients who did not receive any post-study treatment.

The test was designed to be used internationally, and was validated in a study using patients from six countries.

The military said insurgents then attacked marines from inside the hospital, using patients as human shields.

Under the rules that were struck down, researchers could use mental patients in such experiments with the approval of "surrogates" like friends or family members.

Presently, research is also being carried out using normal patients.