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# Docs Don’t Understand ‘Breakthrough’ Therapy: Study
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/docs-dont-understand-breakthrough-therapy-study/
- Published: 2016-04-13T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T20:54:32.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5135351

> Researchers say that doctors often don’t understand the meaning of FDA approval of a drug. A [report](http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2512772&ref=fdaweb.com) in the *Journal of the American Medical Association* says the researchers surveyed board-certified internists and specialists and found “substantial deficits in knowledge of the meaning of FDA approval. Physicians tended to overestimate the minimum evidence of efficacy required of new drugs. Similarly, many misinterpreted the word ‘breakthrough,’ believing these drugs were supported by stronger evidence than required by the statute.”  
>  
> The report says that the misconceptions that were identified may lead doctors to overprescribe newly approved drugs, particularly breakthrough therapies, and inadequately communicate how well the drugs work to the patients who will use them.