Hi All,
He lost, and the 'evidence' against him was a group of local physicians
saying that they always order PSA automatically without discussing it
with the patients. Talk about 'microfascist'. The physicians who
testified against him would easily fit the definition of that word. The
judge ought to be ashamed.
However, Bernadine Healy demonstrates a gross misunderstanding of what
EBM is. Then again, part of the problem may be the way we have marketed
outselves. Rather than the 'scientific medicine' moniker that some of
our "founders" wanted to use, 'evidence based' was chosen so as not to
embarass those physicians who were not up on the scientific method (OK,
so I am being too harsh here). If EBM is simply the application of
sound critical thinking and the scientific method to the practice of
medicine (or health care since Dr. Healy is really talking about with
all her references to governmental and other oversight agencies), it is
much harder to find it 'microfascist'. If we continue to present
ourselves as the representatives of a 'microdemocratic' movement that
emphasizes patient autonomy that is informed by the 'best' evidence
available, we can counter the gross ignorance displayed by her
editorial.
Best wishes,
Dan
****************************************************************************
Dan Mayer, MD
Professor of Emergency Medicine
Albany Medical College
47 New Scotland Ave.
Albany, NY, 12208
Ph; 518-262-6180
FAX; 518-262-5029
E-mail; [log in to unmask]
****************************************************************************
>>> Owen Dempsey <[log in to unmask]> 09/12/06 2:22 PM >>>
Hi S
I can't resist asking:
"And did the doc lose the case?"
I've imagined from time to time being sued for not doing a test (on the
basis of evidence + shared decision making) and optimistically thinking
I'd
have a strong case to put. If he did, I would be horrified, and would
think
an appeal is in order, if he didn't Dr Healey should be charged with
professional misconduct (in my humble opinion) and should be taken to
task.
By the by I think the Holmes paper was accusing some elements of the EBM
community of distorting the truth, a bit different from the attorneys
blanket condemnation of all EBM.
Owen
Owen Dempsey
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