Frequency of off-label drug use in medicine

Abstract

Over the past 10-15 years, the use of drugs off-label (outside the label) has become common. Many authors of such publications believe that the practice of using drugs off-label has become so widespread that almost every drug is prescribed off-label. An analysis of the 10-year use of off-label drugs in the EU countries made it possible to estimate the frequency of such use, the number of leading drugs, the frequency of off-label use of original and generic drugs, depending on the frequency of their use for licensed indications and depending on their use in various areas of medicine.