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Medical Writings |4 January 2005

Powerful Medicines: The Benefits, Risks, and Costs of Prescription Drugs

B. Robert Meyer, MD

Article, Author, and Disclosure Information
Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
  • From Weill Medical College, New York, New York.

Structured abstracts of information on newly published books, computer programs, selected Web sites, and other material are provided in this portion of Medical Writings. Not all items submitted by publishers are abstracted, but a listing of almost all material received can be found in the advertising pages of each issue. “Order phone” numbers can be used to place orders directly with publishers.
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Structured abstracts of information on newly published books, computer programs, selected Web sites, and other material are provided in this portion of Medical Writings. Not all items submitted by publishers are abstracted, but a listing of almost all material received can be found in the advertising pages of each issue. “Order phone” numbers can be used to place orders directly with publishers.
Avorn J. 448 pages. New York: Knopf; 2004. $27.50. ISBN 0375414835. Order at www.randomhouse.com.
Field of medicine: Clinical pharmacology, epidemiology, public health, and internal medicine.
Format: Hardcover book.
Audience: Anyone interested in the issues surrounding prescription drugs in the United States, from practicing clinicians, health care administrators, health economists, and policymakers to consumers.
Purpose: To provide a comprehensive overview of the problems and opportunities occasioned by the pharmaceutical revolution of the last 50 years and the consequent proliferation of pharmaceutical choices available to doctors and consumers, and to suggest directions for the future.
Content: The book has 5 sections discussing critical issues in prescription drug use such as benefits (the shortest section!), risks, costs, information (who knows what, when they know it, and how information is or is not disseminated), and policy (a section that provides solutions to problems discussed). A prologue describes 6 hypothetical “cases” of prescription drug use and their outcomes. The book also contains an epilogue and a 15-page annotated list of references.
Highlights: Avorn has an easy-to-read style and a sense of irony and wit. He uses simple analogies and “cases” to highlight...
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Meyer BR. Powerful Medicines: The Benefits, Risks, and Costs of Prescription Drugs. Ann Intern Med. 2005;142:80. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-142-1-200501040-00024

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Published: Ann Intern Med. 2005;142(1):80.

DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-142-1-200501040-00024

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2005 American College of Physicians
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Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

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