Are Older Drugs Safer? Survey Says Yes

A nationwide survey has revealedthat patients prefer older medicines,equating "older with safer." Recentissues surrounding the safety of suchdrugs as the cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitorsand antidepressants have causedconcern for patients.

Conducted by The Medco Monitor,the survey involved 1092 insuredadults. The purpose of the survey wasto assess patient perceptions, attitudes,and behaviors related to health careand prescription drug coverage.

The findings indicated that 7 out of10 American patients would prefer adrug that has been available for 10years or more, compared with newerdrugs on the market, even whencopays are equal. Although manypatients believe that older and newerdrugs are equally effective, 1 individualin 3 (31%) feels that newer drugsare less safe than older drugs. Furthermore,women are more apt to questionthe safety of newer drugs and morelikely to perceive that newer drugs areless effective than older drugs, comparedwith men.