The rule of 3

Abstract

Summary In this paper, we critically review the information distributed to patients and doctors regarding adverse drug reactions. One major concern is that frequencies reported in the summary of product characteristics are not adjusted for the nocebo effect, leading to an exaggerated concern of adverse drug reactions. Previous research has found that the understanding of health hazards related to pharmacotherapy can be significantly improved by providing information on the frequencies of adverse drug reactions in both the active- and placebo-treated group.