oa Editorial: Is Current Drug Safety an Issue?

At first sight the question: "Is current drug safety an issue?" might appear to be unnecessary. On one hand, it might be argued that drug safety is straightforward: all the physician has to do is to consult his formulary and he will have all the information he requires to use drugs safely. On the other hand, the major clinical, medicolegal and financial aspects of drug safety, together with the ever-increasing store of knowledge and the burgeoning of scientific methods applied to the subject, might be taken to imply that there is no question about the fact that drug safety remains an enormous issue...