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Difficulties and opportunities in clinical pharmacology
Author(s) -
Wilson G. M.
Publication year - 1963
Publication title -
clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.941
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1532-6535
pISSN - 0009-9236
DOI - 10.1002/cpt196342255
Subject(s) - clinical pharmacology , medicine , clinical trial , disease , pharmacology , drug , intensive care medicine , neglect , drug development , psychiatry , pathology
The rapid introduction of new drugs effective in modifying the natural course and symptoms of disease has not yet been accompanied by a parallel development of clinical pharmacology in many medical schools. Medical education has too often emphasized the animal experimental aspects of pharmacology and methods of clinical diagnosis, with relative neglect of the scientific aspects of drug therapy. As a result, many doctors are inadequately trained in clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, particularly with respect to the critical assessment of new remedies. There are presently too many new drugs to be evaluated and too few physicians qualified to carry out this work. The development or expansion of departments of clinical pharmacology is urgently required so that more research can be directed to problems arising from the use of drugs in the treatment of human disease. Particular attention should be given to the improvement of methods of conducting therapeutic trials and of comparing the relative merits of new drugs, to the proper recognition of injurious toxic effects, and to the study of the mechanism of action of drugs in human disease.