Mea culpa. Thank you. Perhaps better, and geramine, is.........
There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets
knowledge, the latter ignorance.
Hippocrates (460 BC - 377 BC), Law
Or am I mistaken there too? ;-)
BW
Neal
Neal Maskrey. Medical Director, National Prescribing Centre, 70 Pembroke
Place, Liverpool L69 3GF. Tel: 0151 794 8135. e-mail:
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Evidence based health (EBH)
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Stephen M.
Perle, D.C.
Sent: 30 June 2006 16:06
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Why is EBM Important?
Neal,
Not that it is directly germane to the discussion of the importance of
EBM but since the discussion is about evidence, Hippocrates does not
appear to have said (written) first do no harm (primum non nocere).(1)
When I learned that this was not a Hippocratic quotation I really had to
say DUH.
Hippocrates was a Greek, thus did not write in Latin and primum non
nocere is Latin.
Smith (1) writes that primum non nocere was first in the English
literature in 1860, with attribution to the English physician, Thomas
Sydenham (1624-1689). The quote supposedly of Sydenham was in Inman's
1860 text was "Primum est ut non nocere." However, the form we know it
in was a misquote in a book review in 1860.
Regarding what Hippocrates actually has written on the topic, Smith
notes that in Epidemics (Book I, ChapterXI) Hippocrates wrote "As to
diseases, make a habit of two things-to help, or at least to do no
harm." I think this is an even better aphorism, as it captures the
concept of actually bringing about a positive outcome without harm which
is of course the goal in evidence based practice, maximizing the
probability of benefits over the risks.
1. Smith CM. Origin and uses of primum non nocere--above all, do no
harm! J Clin Pharmacol. 2005 Apr;45(4):371-7.
Stephen M. Perle, D.C., M.S.
American Chiropractic Association, Faculty Council Chairperson Professor
of Clinical Sciences Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering
University of Bridgeport Bridgeport, CT 06604 USA
www.bridgeport.edu/~perle Ethics Articles
www.chiroweb.com/columnist/perle Speaker's Bureau
www.ncmic.com/6026/speakers.htm ________________________________
A wise man...proportions his belief to the evidence.
David Hume
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Evidence based health (EBH) [mailto:EVIDENCE-BASED-
> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Maskrey Neal
> Sent: Friday, June 30, 2006 10:02 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Why is EBM Important?
>
> Agree Bill.
>
> We ask people to first describe their (or an) ethical framework for
> decision making. Hopefully we get to something like this:-
>
> First do no harm (Safety) - well done Hippocrates, but what next?
> Try and do good - efficacy and effectiveness
|