Informed Choices

Good medicine is all about informed choices. Every single procedure and medication does not have to be risk-free. The risks need to be properly and completely communicated, decisions made with proper and unbiased counseling, etc.

This article talks about patients who feel strongly that Vioxx's benefits substantially outweigh the risks. They plan to keep taking these drugs and I have no problem with that. They know that there could be more problems we don't know about and that there are issues currently under scrutiny, but they choose to take them anyway.

The difference for psychiatric patients is the use of force. They are forced to take risks that others can choose to avoid.