The philosophy of evidence-based medicine

• Main Author: Howick, Jeremy (Author)
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, West Sussex, UK Wiley-Blackwell/BMJ Books 2011
• Subjects: Evidence-Based Medicine; Philosophy, Medical
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has become a required element of clinical practice, but it is critical for the healthcare community to understand the ongoing controversy surrounding EBM. Seeking to address questions raised by critics, The Philosophy of Evidence-based Medicine challenges the over depen...

Table of Contents:

• The philosophy of evidence-based medicine
• What is EBM?
• What is good evidence for a clinical decision?
• Ruling out plausible rival hypotheses and confounding factors : a method
• Resolving the paradox of effectiveness : when do observational studies offer the same degree of evidential support as randomized trials?
• Questioning double blinding as a universal methodological virtue of clinical trials : resolving the Philip's paradox
• Placebo controls : problematic and misleading baseline measures of effectiveness
• Questioning the methodological superiority of "placebo" over "active" controlled trials
• Examining the paradox that traditional roles for mechanistic reasoning and expert
• Judgment have been up-ended by EBM
• A qualified defence of the EBM stance on mechanistic reasoning
• Knowledge that versus knowledge how : situating the EBM position on expert clinical judgment
• Moving EBM forward.