---
title: "Understanding “Off-Label”"
url: https://seconds-count.org/blog/understanding-off-label/
description: "Physicians' Blog post from the January 2008 archive of Seconds-Count.org, reproduced from the file."
---

# Understanding “Off-Label”

[‹ Return to the January 2008 archive](https://seconds-count.org/blog/)

Posted under General by admin on Friday, January 25, 2008

In the source’s own words

I’d like to explain what “off-label” means and why doctors often choose to use medications, devices, and treatments “off-label” to achieve the best outcomes for our patients.

A story in the *New York Times* on Jan. 21 about an upcoming article in the *American Journal of Therapeutics* on the use of peripheral stents – stents used in the arms and legs, primarily – was alarming to some patients who have received stents in their peripheral arteries. The story talked about “off-label” use of peripheral stents. If you are patient who has received a stent and wonder if it was “off-label,” the first thing you should know is that you do not need to be alarmed or afraid. Following the *New York Times* story, many physicians like me received numerous calls from patients wondering if “off-label” meant the stents they received were unsafe, or even illegal. I’d like to explain what “off-label” means and why doctors often choose to use medications, devices, and treatments “off-label” to achieve the best outcomes for our patients.

Let me start by stressing that I, like all of my colleagues, want my patients to get the best results from my care. That is the goal of every aspect of the care we provide and it is fundamental to understanding why “off-label” treatments are used thousands of times every day.

1/25/2008 The source archive page carried a “Read all” link; the remainder of this post was not and has not been reconstructed.

[‹ Return to the January 2008 archive](https://seconds-count.org/blog/)

## Post record

Original permalink: `/blog/?p=13`

Source file: `blog/index.html`

Comment count recorded in the source: No comment

Original date: Friday, January 25, 2008

## About this archive

These pages reproduce what survived in the site backup of seconds-count.org: one 2007 homepage and one January 2008 monthly archive from the Physicians’ Blog.

[Read the full archive note](https://seconds-count.org/about/)

## Source and dating

Homepage source: `index.html`, headlines dated 8/21/2007 to 10/28/2007.

Blog source: `blog/index.html`, four posts dated 1/17/2008 to 1/31/2008.

Reviewed on this archive: 2007–2008 text, reproduced unchanged.

## Blog categories

- [Cardiac CT](https://seconds-count.org/topics/#cardiac-ct)
- [Children](https://seconds-count.org/topics/#children)
- [General](https://seconds-count.org/topics/#general)
- [Heart Disease](https://seconds-count.org/topics/#heart-disease)
- [Heparin](https://seconds-count.org/topics/#heparin)
- [Minimally Invasive](https://seconds-count.org/topics/#minimally-invasive)
- [Statins](https://seconds-count.org/topics/#statins)
- [Stents](https://seconds-count.org/topics/#stents)
- [Stroke](https://seconds-count.org/topics/#stroke)
- [Women](https://seconds-count.org/topics/#women)

## Blog archive months

archive labels; only January 2008 survived with post content.

- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- [January 2008](https://seconds-count.org/blog/)
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007

## Editorial and source policy

Every line of text on this site is reproduced from the 2007–2008 files. Nothing has been added, updated, expanded or re-worded.

This site is a historical archive of pages published at seconds-count.org in 2007 and 2008. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions or any other medical society, certifying board, hospital or health authority. The reference to SCAI above is part of the original 2007 homepage text and describes the site as it stood then, not any current relationship.