VIOXX was on the market for five years before the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) figured out it could kill and withdrew it – by that time tens of thousands may have been affected. But what if the painkiller’s fatal side effects had been spotted within months?
Early identification of dangerous drugs like Vioxx is the goal of a computer monitoring system introduced last week by the FDA. The will check patients’ prescription claims and doctors’ invoices from Medicare, a publicly funded health insurance plan, to see if those taking certain drugs are also being treated for side effects.…
