Every prescription drug available on the market has its own approved
product
information, which is expected to contain
objective, adequate and concise information on properties common to the
active component and specific to the drug product. The information
provided is intended to guide doctors
to safe and effective use of
drugs.
In spite of the health benefits, the use of
drugs is
also associated with risk and harm to many
patients even at
therapeutic doses. In Australia in 1995, more than 20% of
adverse hospital events
were drug related
, and 50% of
these drug
-related events were
judged highly preventable.