I don’t want to do this …but EBM compels me to do it
The word “Evidence” is the most powerful in the world of science and enjoys disproportionate bias towards positivity (of course in any walk of life). But, the fact of the matter is, it can result in either monumental breakthroughs or mindless havoc to mankind in equal quantities.
EBM is not a sacred movement. It came into the medical domain in the early 1970s and grew at an unprecedented pace, invading the medical practice and literally robbing the charm & goodness in clinical medicine.In fact, many point out ,EBM is in direct conflict with Individual-based holistic medicine. If you rely only on EBM without Individual patient data, it might take you to the doorsteps of department of clinical negligence.
But, unfortunately, EBM in an unpure form has grown to gargantuan proportions and penetrated deep into medical academics. Armed with a possible legal authenticity, ignoring it, could easily push us into clutches of criminal negligence. (In fact, the opposite may be true)
Final message
Does trusting EBM too much imply a reduced wisdom?
If you offer a free pass to EBM*, to enter into all your decision-making process, then wisdom will quietly leave through the back door. Taking evidence, at its face value is going to be the biggest intellectual insufficiency or inefficiency for the future world, especially in medical science.
Further reading
Postamble
*I know, It is unwise to blame EBM in such a disparaging manner, rather we need to cleanse and eliminate the limitations of the EBM .That would be a more correct approach, but is it possible ? , since both appear to be built into it.
Dr.S.Venkatesan MD 