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Updated: May 17, 2026
05:10
Drug Repurposing Hypothesis Generation Using the "RE:fine Drugs" System
Published on: December 11, 2016
Enhancing patient autonomy through peer review to replace the FDA's rigorous approval process.
1Division of Bioethics, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. Arthur.Caplan@nyumc.org
Health Affairs (Project Hope)
|October 11, 2012
Summary
Peer review is essential for filtering health information, ensuring patients can make informed decisions. However, current comparative effectiveness studies may not meet the standards for patient utility.
Area of Science:
- Health communication
- Medical ethics
- Health policy
Background:
- The landscape of medical information has shifted, with patients and physicians now receiving vast amounts of data.
- Traditional deference to government drug approvals and physician prescriptions is no longer the norm.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the role of peer review as a critical filter for medical information.
- To define the ethical imperative for providing patient-centered, vetted health information.
- To assess the utility of comparative effectiveness studies for patient decision-making.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the evolving information environment for healthcare consumers and providers.
- Ethical considerations regarding patient autonomy and informed consent.
- Evaluation of the characteristics of effective health communication (comprehensibility, trustworthiness, verifiability, transparency).
Main Results:
- Peer review is identified as the optimal filter for navigating the complex information environment.
- Ethical considerations necessitate that validated information empowers patients to align decisions with their values.
- The hypothetical comparative effectiveness case study analyzed did not meet the criteria for being useful to patients or providers.
Conclusions:
- Effective health communication must be comprehensible, comprehensive, trustworthy, verifiable, and transparent.
- Peer-reviewed information is crucial for enabling patient decision-making aligned with personal values.
- Current comparative effectiveness research may require improvements to enhance its practical value for patients and clinicians.
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