Bad Medicine: Rest in peace

Why we should let "evidence-based medicine" rest in peace.

Evidence-based medicine is a redundant term to the extent that doctors have always claimed they practiced medicine on the basis of evidence. They have, however, disagreed about what exactly constitutes legitimate evidence and how to synthesize the totality of evidence in a way that supports clinical action. Despite claims to the contrary, little progress has been made in solving this hard probl...

Terri Schiavo: rest in peace.

As Charles Weijer has pointed out, the case of Terri Schiavo involved a family conflict regarding end-of-life decisionmaking. This irreconcilable conflict resulted in a series of judicial interventions that were a rerun, with some differences, of the Karen Ann Quinlan, Nancy Beth Cruzan and other wellknown cases. Nowadays, many hospitals rely on clinical ethicists, ethics committees or mediator...

Bad medicine

In his new book Ben Goldacre argues that the pharmaceutical industry is in poor health and in urgent need of treatment. Richard Smith agrees.

The National Pharmaceuticals Strategy: Rest in peace, revive or renew?

An old risk factor for COPD: rest in peace, 15%