What’s so bad about off-label uses of medication?
According to the Justice Department, it’s the biggest settlement in a health-care fraud case in history. GlaxoSmithKline, the huge British drug-maker, will pay $3 billion in fines and compensation to the U.S. government and the states.
That’s for pushing doctors to prescribe drugs for uses that weren’t approved by the FDA, and for failing to inform U.S. regulators of potential dangerous side-effects.
But off-label drug uses are really pretty common. So why is it considered so bad, apparently, that Glaxo has been encouraging off-label uses for prescription drugs?
Here to talk with us in today’s Mid-day Extra is Steven Woloshin, professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice.
Stories You Might Like
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
