A recent study examines patients and their belief that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration only approves safe and effective drugs.
The study found that providing more information to consumers can help them make better choices, according to a news article.
Two doctors investigated how U.S. consumers make drugs choices through an Internet-based trial of 2,944 subjects. The participants were split into three groups and was given one of three explanations on two cholesterol drugs and two heartburn drugs. The control group was given no explanation, the nondirective group received only explanations, and the directive group were given advice along with their explanation. The study showed that patients who were given explanations were able to make better choices.
The study’s conductors also found that 39 percent of the patients (mistakenly) believed that only “extremely effective” drugs are approved by the FDA, and 25 percent believe that only drugs without serious side effects are approved.
As a Los Angeles product liability lawyer, I hope that federal agencies will strive to make drug labeling more clear and more detailed, in order to allow consumers to make the best possible medical choices for their health. In my experience as a personal injury lawyer, I’ve seen many cases in which drugs labeling did not warn patients of the seriousness of the potential side effects. If you have taken a drug that has caused you serious injury and were not informed of the possible risk, I recommend you contact a personal injury lawyer. You may be entitled to monetary compensation for the pain and suffering you have endured.