Introduction: A friend of the court -- Part one: Does it work?. How do we know? ; Decision-making and dementia ; Lowering the bar ; Standards that matter to patients -- Part two: Is it safe?. How do we find out about drug risks? ; Downfall of a giant ; Texas hold'em ; The label as protective talisman ; A new era of reform -- Part three: What should it cost?. The price of a wonder drug ; Giving it all away ; A license to print money ; Old whines in new battles ; Conflicted interests ; Making medicines affordable -- Part four: Spreading the word. A failure to communicate ; Shaping the prescribers of tomorrow ; Better signals -- Part five: Mind-altering examples. Acid reflux: the death and rebirth of psychedelics ; Pain, killers -- Part six. Empowering the patient. You can't get medicines if you can't get health care -- Epilogue: Healing the wounds -- Appendix A: Resources for consumers -- Appendix B: A note to health-care professionals and trainees -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index

"Groundbreaking research has given us many remarkable new medicines, but America's drug evaluation process, once the envy of the world, is being seriously compromised. Under pressure from drugmakers, the FDA has been lowering its approval standards and has let poorly effective or risky products enter the market--while our prescription prices, the highest in the world, put crucial treatments beyond the reach of many. In Rethinking Medications, Dr. Jerry Avorn explains how we got here and what we can do to ensure that our medicines are dependably effective, safe, and affordable"--