title: Enhancing prescription drug innovation and adoption.
abstract: The adoption and use of a new drug would ideally be guided by its innovation and cost-effectiveness. However, information about the relative efficacy and safety of a drug is typically incomplete even well after market entry, and various other forces create a marketplace in which most new drugs are little better than their older counterparts. Five proposed mechanisms are considered for promoting innovation and reducing the use of therapies ultimately found to offer poor value or have unacceptable risks. These changes range from increasing the evidence required for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to modifying the structure of drug reimbursement. Despite the challenges of policy implementation, the United States has a long history of successfully improving the societal value and safe use of prescription medicines.
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago Hospitals, University of Chicago, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. galexand@uchicago.edu
authors.forename: G Caleb
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: Alec B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Randall S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Stafford
mesh_terms: D057186:Comparative Effectiveness Research; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D017277:Drug Approval; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D004348:Drug Labeling / Q000592:standards; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010330:Patents as Topic; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D011306:Prescription Fees; D011358:Product Surveillance, Postmarketing / Q000592:standards; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration / Q000458:organization & administration
chemical_list: D055553:Prescription Drugs