Document Type

Article

Comments

Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Vol. 26, No. 2, April 2001

Abstract

The impetus for these essays on evidence in medicine and law is commonly called evidence-based medicine: the movement to evaluate the safety, effectiveness, and cost of medical practices using tools from science and social science and to base clinical practice on such knowledge. Evidence-based medicine is portrayed as an alternative to medicine based on authority, tradition, and the physician's personal experience. The role of politics is rarely mentioned. When discussed, politics is portrayed as what evidence-based medicine will avoid.

Date of Authorship for this Version

April 2001

Keywords

evidence-based medicine, medical practice, medical policy, managed care organizations