Evidence-Based Medicine Matters

Chris Longridge

Journalist

The general public doesn't much care about evidence-based medicine. Most people don't care about medicine at all until they need some. And when that moment comes, they need to be able to trust that what they are told about their treatment is true. That what they are told isn't merely someone's opinion, nor an unscrupulous salesman's lies to the vulnerable, nor an optimistic amateur's wild speculation. They need to know that what they are told about their treatment is as true as can be realistically expected in an imperfect world. Evidence-based medicine is of no interest to the healthy and of fundamental importance to those same people when they become sick. It is what we all deserve, and it's up to our elected leaders to make sure that we receive it, because until the worst happens, none of us has time to care about it. That's what governments are for.