SPOTLIGHT: When treatments don't work, whose problem is it?

When treatments don't work, whose problem is it?
At an FDA hearing last week, panel members soberly discussed the evidence as to whether drug-coated stents were responsible for an increased risk of future blood clots. Such safety reviews are obviously a good thing, but sometimes they sidestep other issues, says writer David Leonhardt. In this case, the FDA didn't even take on the issue of whether the stents--and preceding angioplasties--should be done in the first place. And if it's not FDA's job to take on the problem, the question is, who will? Article