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Medicine is moving away from reliance on the proclamations of authorities to the use of numerical methods to estimate the size of effects of its interventions. But a rumbling note of uneasiness underlines present-day medical progress: the more we know, The more questions we encounter about what to do with the hard-won information.The essays in Where's the Evidence examine the dilemmas that have arisen as the result of medicine's unprecedented increase in technical powers. How do doctors draw the line between "knowing" (the acquisition of new medical information) and doing" (the application of that new knowledge)? What are the long-term consequences of responding to the demand that physicians always do everything that can be done? Is medicine's primary aim to increase the length of life? Or is it to reduce the amount of pain and suffering? And who is empowered to choose when these ends are mutually exclusive? This engaging collection of essays will be of interest to professionals interested in the evidence-based medicine debate, including epidemiologists, neonatologists, those involved in clinical trials and health policy, medical ethicists, medical students, and trainees.
This collection of essays investigates the fundamental tension between the acquisition of new medical data and the practical application of that knowledge in clinical settings. David L. Sackett, a pioneer in the field of evidence-based medicine, utilizes his extensive background in epidemiology and clinical trials to examine the ethical and practical dilemmas inherent in modern healthcare. The work argues that as technical capabilities expand, the medical profession must critically evaluate the objectives of treatment, specifically the balance between extending life and mitigating patient suffering.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts recognize this work as a foundational text for understanding the philosophical underpinnings of evidence-based medicine. Readers frequently note that while the prose is accessible, it provides a rigorous intellectual challenge for medical professionals and students alike.
Page Count:
280
Publication Date:
1999-01-01
Publisher:
OUP Oxford
ISBN-10:
0192630881
ISBN-13:
9780192630889
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