Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin 1995;33:33-35; doi:10.1136/dtb.1995.33533
Copyright © 1995 by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation

Risk:benefit analysis of drugs in practice

For each drug there is a balance between risk and benefit, but how that balance is struck varies. The licensing authority considers the health implications for the population exposed; for the patient the assessment relates to the outlook for the individual; prescribers need to reconcile both approaches and in doing so must satisfy the patient's right to choose whether to take the treatment. Problems arise if the doctor and patient fail to communicate, if risk:benefit data are not available or if the patient's perception of risk or benefit differs from that of the doctor. These topics, together with a view of risks and benefits from the pharmaceutical industry, were considered at the recent Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin symposium entitled "The Risk:Benefit Analysis of Drugs in Practice". In this article we summarise key points and opinions raised in talks and discussion as they relate to the Committee on Safety of Medicines (addressed by Professor Michael Rawlins), drug manufacturers (Dr Karen Summers), the prescriber (Dr Janine Mansi, Professor Larry Ramsay and Dr Isabel Sanderson) and the consumer (Professor Richard Eiser and Dame Rachel Waterhouse).

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P P Koopmans Clinical endpoints in trials of drugs for cancer: time for a rethink? BMJ, June 8, 2002; 324(7350): 1389 - 1391. [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Greenhalgh How to read a paper: Papers that report drug trials BMJ, August 23, 1997; 315(7106): 480 - 483. [Full Text]