Medication Risk must be Balanced with Benefit,not Fear

Abstract

The passionate topic in pharmacotherapy belongs to medication safety. A basic premise in medicine is to first do no harm: primum non nocere. But can this ancient principle hold true concerning medications? Medication alerts from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are being transmitted through emails daily. Recently, an FDA advisory committee reviewed acetaminophen and the risk of acute liver injury. They made recommendations that could change the patient utilization and market dynamics of acetaminophen. This article is a reminder that safety is always at risk when progress and benefit are the outcomes of pharmacotherapy. Risk and benefit are mutually inclusive ideas and should never be separated. When risk dominates, fear is generated.