Amongst the works and documents reviewed in our French edition from October 2016 to September 2017, the Prescrire Editorial Staff has awarded the 2017 Prescrire Prize to the works listed below.

The Dépakine (valproic acid) scandal. I could not remain silent
Martin M "Dépakine, le scandale. Je ne pouvais pas me taire" Robert Laffont, Paris 2017: 239 pages, 19.50 euros.
This work in French, "Dépakine, le scandale. Je ne pouvais pas me taire", chronicles the author’s struggle to raise awareness about the risks for unborn children from the use of valproic acid during pregnancy. Where regulatory authorities, healthcare professionals and the pharmaceutical company Sanofi had all failed, her actions led to a re-evaluation of the harm-benefit balance of valproic acid and to better information for patients. This book deserves to be read and widely distributed amongst both healthcare professionals and the public at large
> Read Prescrire's review (in French)

Too much healthcare can make you sick

Rambaud C and Thierry J-P "Trop soigner rend malade" Albin Michel, Paris 2016: 304 pages, 18.50 euros.
"Trop soigner rend malade", written by a physician specialising in public health and a lawyer specialising in the prevention of healthcare-related risks, speaks out against the harms of overmedicalisation and provides patients with the tools to understand and to fight against its excesses. Intended mainly for the public at large, this book also provides healthcare professionals with relevant food for thought on how healthcare information is shared.
> Read Prescrire's review (in French)

Private patients and public health. Changing intellectual property rules for access to medicines
't Hoen E. Health Action International and AMB Publishers, Diemen (The Netherlands) 2016: 181 pages, 45 euros. Available for free download at www.accesstomedicines.org
This work in English tackles the topic of tension over access to medicines at a worldwide level, linked to the strengthening of intellectual property rights for medicines which began in 1995. The author has been spearheading international projects to promote access to medicines for over 30 years. This book contributes to a better understanding of the principles underlying today’s international trade in medicines, and possible action to find an alternative system.
> Read Prescrire's review (in English)

Is there a right to die?

Fournier V "La mort est-elle un droit ?"
La documentation française, Paris 2016:
164 pages, 7.90 euros.
"La mort est-elle un droit ?" examines the questions raised by the end of life, in the context of the French law of 2016 known as the Claeys-Leonetti act, "creating new rights for persons who are ill and persons at the end of life". The author describes the historical evolution which gave rise to the new French law, and then reviews the ethical and political issues surrounding the end of life in France.
> Read Prescrire's review (in French)

©Prescrire 5 October 2017

"Prix Prescrire 2017" Prescrire Int 2017; 26 (186): outside back cover. (pdf, free)