The<unk>  states that the ratio of<unk> s to harms among patients taking new drugs tends to vary inversely with how extensively a drug is marketed. Two Americans, Howard Brody and Donald Light, have defined the<unk> , inspired by Tudor Hart's inverse care<unk> . A drug effective for a serious disorder is less and less effective as it is promoted for milder cases and for other conditions for which the drug was not approved. Although effectiveness becomes more diluted, the risks of harmful side effects persist, and thus the<unk> -harm ratio worsens as a drug is marketed more widely. The<unk>  highlights the need for comparative effectiveness research and other reforms to improve evidence-based prescribing.
Inverse benefit law
Precautionary principle
Inverse care law
Information-theoretic death
Evidence-based medical ethics
Listing's law
Clinical equipoise
Evidence-based practice