Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Realities of Drug Use in Society

  • Published:
Drug Safety Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

The objective of pharmacotherapy is to restore health or, at least, to limit illness and disability. Drug safety depends upon a strong, reliable chain from the basic science laboratory to the consumer. However, this chain is uneven in strength and the most unpredictable links involve the human factors which contribute substantially to adverse drug reactions. These include misprescribing by physicians, often because of educational deficiencies and sometimes because of the influence of manufacturers’ promotional strategies, as well as noncompliance by consumers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Brennan M, Gowdey CW. Adverse drug reactions: a review of fatalities reported in Ontario. Ontario Medical Review, August, 1988

  • Caranasos GJ, Stewart RB, Cluff LE. Drug-induced illness leading to hospitalisation. Journal of the American Medical Association 6: 713–717, 1974

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carruthers G, Goldberg T, Segal H, Sellers E, Ray WA, et al. Drug utilization: a comprehensive literature review. Ministry of Health of Ontario, Toronto, 1987

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper JK, Lover DW, Raffoul PR. International prescription non-adherence (non-compliance) by the elderly. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 30: 329–333, 1982

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eastman H. Report of the Commission of Inquiry on the pharmaceutical industry. Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada, Ottawa, 1985

    Google Scholar 

  • Lexchin Joel. The real pushers: a critical analysis of the Canadian drug industry. New Star Books, British Columbia, 1984

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowy FH. Prescriptions for health: the report of the Pharmaceutical Inquiry of Ontario, Ministry of Health of Ontario, Toronto, in press

  • Melmon K. Preventable drug reactions: causes and cures. New England Jounal of Medicine 284: 1361–1368, 1974

    Google Scholar 

  • Nolan L, O’Malley K. Prescribing for the elderly. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 36: 245–254, 1988

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom JR. Medication usage in an elderly population. Medical Care 23: 157–164, 1985

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ray WA. The mal-prescribing of liquid tetracycline preparations. American Journal of Public Health 67: 762–763, 1977

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ray WA, Griffin MR, Schaffner W, Baugh DK, Meltan J. Psychotropic drug use and the risk of hip fracture. New England Journal of Medicine 316: 363–369, 1987

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sackett DL, Haynes RB. Is there a patient compliance problem? In Lasagna L (Ed.) Controversies in therapeutics, pp. 552–558, WB Saunders, Toronto, 1980

    Google Scholar 

  • Soumerai SB, Avorn J. Efficiency and cost containment in hospital pharmacotherapy: state of the art and future directions. Millbank Memorial Fund 62: 447–474, 1984

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Soumerai SB, et al. Improving drug prescribing in primary care: a critical analysis of the experimental literature. Millbank Quarterly, in press

  • Steel K, Gertman PM, Crescenzi C, Anderson J. Iatrogenic illness on a general medical serivce at a university hospital. New England Journal of Medicine 304: 638–642, 1981

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Bioethics, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 1A8

    Frederick H. Lowy

Authors
  1. Frederick H. Lowy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lowy, F.H. Realities of Drug Use in Society. Drug-Safety 5 (Suppl 1), 155–159 (1990). https://doi.org/10.2165/00002018-199000051-00024

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00002018-199000051-00024

Keywords

Search

Navigation