Caution: Prescription and Patent Drugs Can Harm Your Health

This article, which appeared in the GAO Review, Vol. 19, Issue 3, Summer 1984, discusses: (1) how the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) premarket approval process takes years to complete but still cannot guarantee absolute safety; (2) problems that exist in inspecting drug manufacturers; (3) the reluctance of physicians and hospitals to report adverse reactions; and (4) the administrative and legal processes that hamper efforts to remove unsafe drugs from the market. Although FDA has improved in these areas, some prescription and patent drugs will probably continue to pose health risks.