Less Effective Medication Being Prescribed More Often

Findings from a recent study suggest that many physicians are prescribing more expensive, riskier, and less beneficial drugs.

According to the study published in Accountability in Research, weak drug regulation and deceptive marketing can lead physicians to prescribe these drugs. Researchers state that industry sponsorship and poor regulatory processes can create studies that show ineffective medications as more effective and safe than in actuality.

Researchers also found that these medications could cost as much as 17 times above more effective treatments.

“This study shows that the design choices and interpretive strategies employed by researchers with industry ties gives prescribers the impression that a ‘new’ antidepressant is safe, effective, and well tolerated, when in fact the data were not collected or analyzed in a way that provides sound support for this conclusion,” said lead study author Lisa Cosgrove.

Researchers concluded that weak regulation can lead to evidence-biased treatments instead of evidence-based treatments.