Prescription-related illness--a scandalous pandemic.
Prescribed drugs are now a major cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in the elderly. The extent of this pandemic is described and its likely causes in primary care are identified: unnecessary prescribing, imprecise diagnosis, inadequate undergraduate and postgraduate education in pharmacology and therapeutics, the uncritical application of evidence-based medicine, the outstanding development of new drugs and their sometimes unjustified promotion. Urgent action is recommended under seven headings, by health administration, epidemiologists, medical educators and prescribing doctors.
Visiting Professor of Prescribing Science, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, UK.
Hugh
H
McGavock
D000368:Aged; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004345:Drug Industry; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D008508:Medication Errors; D019338:Polypharmacy; D006113:United Kingdom