Dr Shaneyfelt
Your knee-jerk e-mail symbolises exactly what is giving the US
healthcare system a bad reputation and bad coverage in the world media
at the moment. Just like any other system and any other country, it
should be open to criticism and that criticism should be
evidence-based.
As the world's largest economy and political power, America's state of
health and state of healthcare is obviously of interest to other
countries, and even more so in a globalised world. To tell a British
person not to comment on the US healthcare is ridiculous and shows
that you are not open to debate. In that case shall we say that UK
scientists should not comment on research done in the US because it is
not our business?
There has been a lot of misinformed, vitriolic coverage of the NHS
with no evidence base from both UK and US politicians and various
commentators. That is why those of us who know about EBM and have the
ability to read evidence impartially should speak out. If we did not
speak out about injustices in other countries because "it was not our
business" then we would live in a sorry state of affairs. Nobody is
saying that the US should copy the NHS; it will develop its own
context-specific solution to good healthcare for its population.
However, as I said in a recent blog
<http://trusttheevidence.net/ami-banerjee/us-health-reform>, there is
evidence to show that the US system is not working.
It is very hard to tease apart medicine from politics and perhaps the
role of EBM should be to inform politicians and the public of the
best-quality data and how to use it.
Best wishes
Ami Banerjee
2009/8/24 Shaneyfelt, Terry <[log in to unmask]>:
> As an American- please stay out of our business. What do you people (UK)
> care about what we do with our health care system? Asking people to sign a
> petition for some outside group to “inform” congress in the US about the UK
> system. That doesn’t sound biased in any way. Members of your own parliament
> have urged that we don’t change our system.
>
>
>
> This board is supposed to be about EMB not politics.
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Evidence based health (EBH)
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ash Paul
> Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 8:50 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Combating misinformation about the NHS: do your bit for the NHS
> which we are all proud of in the UK, inspite of its many faults!
>
>
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
> You might want to read this and sign this petition (it's the least we can do
> for the NHS!!!!). Please forward it to all your colleagues and to people,
> friends and family you know and trust in the UK:
>
>
>
> HiMovement for change led by Obama in the US is at risk of collapsing, in
> part because of the powerful medical insurance lobby and right-wing
> propaganda machine spreading lies about the British health care system. I
> have just signed a petition urging the US Congress and American people to
> ignore the propaganda about the health system in Britain and to turn the
> debate away from fear and lies -- I thought that you would want to help set
> the record straight too! Click the link to sign the petition:
> http://www.avaaz.org/en/reform_health_care_uk/96.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK
>
> Regards,
>
> Ash
>
> Dr Ash Paul
> Medical Director
> NHS Bedfordshire
>
> 21 Kimbolton Road
>
> Bedford
>
> MK40 2AW
>
> Tel no: 01234795705
>
> Email: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
--
Dr Amitava Banerjee
Clinical Research Fellow
Stroke Prevention Unit
University of Oxford
trusttheevidence.net
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