New buzzwords 'reduce medicine to economics': Physicians lament the devaluation of clinical judgment in today's health care world
I agree with the authors for the most part. My concern is that many of my colleagues seem to have the same contempt for and distrust of "evidence based medicine". We have an overwhelming amount of information available to us now and new recommendations and guidelines appear on a frequent basis. Evidence based medicine is very helpful when trying to wade through it all. It gives us rational algorithm's for approaching the diagnosis and management of diseases. Physicians have training in the evaluation of research studies and usually have a basic understanding of statistics and probability. As long as we use those skills when evaluating the latest evidence we will continue to serve our patients well. Evidence based medicine should not be used as the be all and end all when it comes to making our clinical decisions. It should serve us as the best available and current evidence but, like all the scientific pursuits, the recommendations and treatments are likely to change as new data comes to light. That is the process of science, continuous modification and improvement of our understanding and application of medical knowledge.
At the end of the day I am still a doctor, not a provider, and I plan to continue treating patients, not create a market for consumers.
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