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According to a survey of orthopedic surgeons recently released, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is too slow to approve new drugs and medical devices:

• over three-quarters, 76%, believe FDA's approval process is too slow
• 60% believe FDA hinders their use of new therapies
• 73% believe FDA approval delays hurt patients
• 70% favor changing the law to give physicians access to unapproved therapies if they carry a warning about their unapproved status
• 80% favor having Vioxx available again

Such were the findings of the sixth in a series of medical specialist surveys conducted by Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), which have consistently found a high level of dissatisfaction with FDA's performance.

Source: Competitive Enterprise Institute