Prescription for Disaster

Library Journal

Moore, a senior fellow in health policy at the George Washington University Medical Center, reports that prescription drugs contribute to 100,000 deaths each year. He also points out that over a lifetime of drug taking, the average American has a 26 percent chance of being hospitalized from a drug injury. Clearly, putting blind faith in prescription drugs can be dangerous, and Moore aims to tell consumers how they can minimize the risks of serious side effects in all therapeutic categories. Though he does provide references to the professional medical literature to substantiate his claims, in this reviewer's opinion he greatly accentuates the negative; obviously, drugs have been invaluable in curing disease and alleviating symptoms. Still, for its timely warning, this book is recommended for all consumer health collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/97.]Bruce Slutsky, New Jersey Inst. of Technology Lib., Newark

Booknews

A senior fellow in health policy at the George Washington University Medical Center with a background in investigative journalism demonstrates the dangerous flaws in the system that makes prescription drugs available and looks at adverse effects of many common drugs, drawing on scientific studies from mainstream medicine. He explains how to become an informed consumer and minimize chances of being hospitalized or injured by medication. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Jacqueline Boone

Moore, a senior fellow in health policy at the George Washington University Medical Center, offers readers a riveting and relentlessly horrific account of the "inevitable, inherently unpredictable, amazingly varied" adverse effects associated with the nation's most commonly used medications. -- Jacqueline Boone, The New York Times Book Review

Kirkus Reviews

The master at arousing controversy in the world of health and medicine (Health Failure, 1989; Lifespan, 1993; etc.) is at it again, this time with the word on why there's no such thing as a safe drug. Moore knows how to get his message across: with memorable statistics (e.g., prescription drugs are involved in 100,000 deaths a year, more than twice the death toll from auto accidents); with a plenitude of illustrative anecdotes, meant to chill the blood; and with well-documented supplementary research to back up his claims. He begins by looking closely at why, by their nature, the potent prescription drugs of modern medicine pose unpredictable and varied hazards. Moore primarily faults the FDA for inadequate long-term drug testing and poor monitoring of drug safety, but he also assigns blame to doctors themselves for too often prescribing inappropriate drugs and for not giving patients sufficient information about the potential adverse effects of medications. Consumers, too, can compound such commonplace problems if they aren't alert to the risks. Accordingly, the final portion of the book tells us how to protect ourselves. Moore explains some of the medical terms found printed on drug labels and guides readers in how to interpret various warnings. He also suggests appropriate diplomatic tactics to follow when talking with one's physician about remedies; included is a helpful list of questions to bring along. The book's main concern—that too little is known about how frequently prescription drugs cause trouble for patients—may come to seem a tad obvious. Yet one statistic here cited—that consumers have about a one-in-five chance of being treated with an unsuitable ordangerous drug—is, if accurate, genuinely disturbing. The key to improving the system, Moore says, is an informed, concerned, and even demanding public, which this book is designed to create. Vintage Moore—sharp, readable, persuasive.