On Patient Safety: Differential Standards for Medical Evidence Risks Patient Safety

摘要

To paraphrase Upton Sinclair, it is difficult to get a man to understand something when his situation depends upon his not understanding it [ ]. That is the position that doctors are in today with the practice of evidence-based medicine. All physicians can cherry-pick medical evidence to find data that supports our viewpoint, while ignoring or pointing out the flaws of studies that undermine our positions. As surgeons, we typically agree with medical research that validates the benefit of those procedures we perform while looking askance at data that calls the value of our surgical practices into question. This sort of differential approach to reading leads to important patient-safety concerns.