Evidence-Based Medicine Matters

Dr Caroline Wright

PHG Foundation

When I first heard the phrase 'evidence based medicine', I was immediately struck by the seemingly strange concept that there was any other kind of medicine! Surely good medical practice has to be based on evidence, otherwise it is no better than hearsay. Proof of the clinical validity and utility of a particular diagnostic test, or therapeutic intervention, is absolutely essential to sort the effective from the ineffective, the safe from the unsafe, and ultimately allows us to make informed decisions about our own health.