Patients increasingly do not trust doctors or medical research to tell them whether a therapeutic drug is worthwhile, according to the findings of a major project published today.
Instead they turn to friends and family for advice on prescription drugs.
Experts at the Academy of Medical Sciences say that patients find information leaflets "impenetrable" and call for GPs to allow more time in appointments to discuss prescription drugs with patients.
Researchers led by Professor Sir John Tooke commissioned surveys of the public and GPs and found growing doubts among both about the quality of published medical research.
A ComRes poll of 2,000 people found that just 37% trusted medical trials to give them good information about drugs – while 65% trusted friends and family.
A poll of 1,000 GPs found that 82% believed that industry-funded trials of medicines were biased. This was greater than the 67% of the public who also believed this.
Professor Tooke said: “The results are a cause for deep concern and signal the need for concerted action.
“It is startling to hear that only about a third of the public trust medical research, and that patients are struggling to make sense of the information they receive.
“Good science should play a greater role because it is the sole source of information that is subject to rigorous check and challenge.”
The Royal College of GPs said it would be hard for doctors to spend more time with patients in the present system.
Chair Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard said: “We want to spend more time with our patients, but offering longer appointments means offering fewer appointments – and due to the intense resource and workforce pressures currently facing general practice, our patients are already waiting longer than they should be for routine appointments."
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