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Article: Is Your Doctor in Denial?; Survey Finds Physicians Often Dismiss Complaints About Drugs' Side Effects
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- August 28, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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On many online message boards and Internet chat rooms, anxious
patients share details about the muscle pain and memory loss they
have noticed since they started taking statins to lower their
cholesterol. A new study suggests these people may be seeking
validation for good reason: Some of their complaints might otherwise
be going unheard.
According to a survey of 650 patients published last week in Drug
Safety, a peer-reviewed journal, doctors frequently ignored or
dismissed patients' concerns about such side effects. The study
suggests this pattern of reaction goes beyond statins to other
drugs.
When doctors fail to recognize a patient's symptoms as drug side
effects, more than that ...