Medical Staff

Long lists of drug side effects may overwhelm physicians

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, May 31, 2011

The long lists of potential side effects that accompany every drug can cause physicians to feel overwhelmed when they try to decide which medications are best for their patients, according to an article in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study’s authors analyzed more than 5,600 drug labels and found that commonly prescribed drugs averaged nearly 100 side effects. “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) highlighted this issue in 2006 when they unveiled new labeling guidelines, specifically discouraging the inclusion of ‘exhaustive lists of every reported adverse event, no matter how infrequent or minor,’ states the study. Unfortunately, there is currently no threshold by which to identify when a drug list becomes too extensive.
 

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