title: For the good of the patient: risks and benefits of medicines.
abstract: The basis of regulation of medicines is an assessment of risk and benefit. As the process of drug development has evolved with the advances in scientific knowledge, new and more precise methods of measuring drug efficacy have been created. Pharmacovigilance must also change with as much emphasis being placed on demonstrating the safety of a medicine as on preventing harm. Communication of these issues to interested parties remains problematical with room for considerable improvement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Liverpool, Ashton Street, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK. ambreck@liv.ac.uk
authors.forename: Alasdair
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Breckenridge
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D015195:Drug Design; D016903:Drug Monitoring; D004358:Drug Therapy; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011358:Product Surveillance, Postmarketing; D018570:Risk Assessment