riskbenefit

Risk-benefit is the evaluation of the balance between expected benefits and expected harms of a decision, intervention, or policy. It combines information about efficacy, safety, cost, feasibility, and consequences to guide choices. It appears in medicine, public health, engineering, and environmental policy.

The process involves identifying potential benefits and harms, estimating likelihoods and magnitudes, and considering timing, reversibility, and uncertainty. Analysts may compute a risk-benefit ratio or expected value, and perform sensitivity analyses. Ethical and equity considerations are often central, as benefits and harms may affect different groups.

In medicine, a favorable risk-benefit profile supports drug approvals, clinical guidelines, and patient choices, with patient values informing decisions. In public policy, risk-benefit analysis weighs health and safety gains against costs and burdens, such as compliance, economic impact, and unintended consequences.

Limitations include uncertainty, incomplete data, difficulty valuing non-monetary outcomes, and potential biases. The approach may undervalue rare but severe harms or overvalue measurable benefits. Alternatives and complements include risk assessment, cost-benefit analysis, and multi-criteria decision analysis.

Example: A new therapy reduces disease progression but increases adverse events; regulators examine the expected net benefit for the population, considering severity, duration, and alternative treatments.