The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services delayed the implementation of the revised Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects – also known as the “Common Rule” – for six months until July 19, 2018. 

The interim final rule, announced yesterday, will provide agencies subject to the Common Rule – including HHS and other cabinet-level federal regulatory bodies – with additional time to prepare for the implementation of the updated regulations. 

First issued in 1991 and revised by final rule in January 2017, the Common Rule outlines basic ethics standards for human subjects in government-sponsored research. The 2017 revised Common Rule was the first update to the regulation since 2005.