Role of pharmacoepidemiology

Abstract

H ow the work of pharmacoepidemiologists fits into healthcare systems, the lives of patients and the goals of physicians was recently discussed by Dr Jerry Avorn from the Harvard School of Medicine, Boston, US, at the 12th International Conference on Pharmacoepidemiology [ Amsterdam, The Netherlands; August 1996 ]. Dr Avorn believes that there are 3 core questions that pharmacoepidemiologists must consider when performing their work, and reviewing the work of colleagues and the media’s interpretation of medical research. These questions are ‘compared to what’, ‘what does it all mean’ and ‘what is it going to cost’.