Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine · 2003 · 108 citations · 0 references
Biomedical EthicEvidence-based MedicineScience EthicClinical GuidelinesEducationResearch EthicsEthical PracticeForensic MedicineBioethicsHealthcare EthicKenneth W GoodmanEvidence-based TherapyReal Subject—fallibilityHuman Research EthicPhilosophy Of MedicineMedical EthicsThought-provoking BookClinical ScienceEthical ReviewClinical SciencesMedicineEvidence-based Practice
There can be few better illustrations of why the term ‘evidence-based medicine’ is misleading than the title of Kenneth W Goodman's (no relation) thought-provoking book. The question has been asked many times, but what other sort of medicine is there? Medicine that is intentionally divorced from evidence is unworthy even of ethical consideration. It is the subtitle of the book that is the author's real subject—fallibility and responsibility in clinical science—though even that is wrongly phrased. Had the title been ‘The Ethics of Uncertainty in Clinical Medicine’, I would have started reading with less prejudice.