Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Health care needs public acceptance of evidence based medicine

Brad Wright, PhD
Policy
July 20, 2010
Share
Tweet
Share

Although a majority of Americans probably couldn’t give you an accurate description of the differences between fascism, socialism, and communism, they have no trouble applying–and often interchanging–those labels to any effort by government to reform health care.

And, based on their efforts, one might conclude that the defining characteristic of any government involvement in health care is rationing. As if we don’t already ration, but will as soon as the government intrudes.

Now that isn’t to say that there aren’t some legitimate concerns involved in expanding access to health care in this country, because there are. For instance, we already have areas in this country with a shortage of physicians, and when uninsured people are suddenly insured, their demand for services will be actualized and the physician shortage will be exacerbated. Some people take that to mean that they won’t be able to see a doctor without bread line depression-era style waits.

I don’t think that’s remotely close to what will actually happen, but even if it did, there would be a simple fix: produce more doctors in this country. Plenty of smart, talented people are denied admission to U.S. medical schools every year. I honestly do not think that the quality of U.S. medical care would suffer by extending enrollment at the margins.

Then there’s the issue of rationing that people fear will go on at the doctor’s office. They worry that in a governmental effort to “pinch pennies” patients won’t be able to get the best care like they supposedly can now. There’s a tremendous amount of concern about the idea of evidence-based medicine. Apparently people don’t trust the name–or else they prefer their treatments to be based on something other than evidence. An article just published in Health Affairs gets to the root of these fears.

The study’s authors basically find that people don’t know what evidence-based medicine really means, don’t tend to get involved in decision making about their health care (preferring their physicians to make the decisions), and continue to hold on strongly to the belief that more care–and more expensive care–is always better. You would think that an entire nation of people raised up on the fairytale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears would realize that extremes in either direction aren’t usually the best course of action.

Still, the authors found that people translate the phrase evidence-based medicine to mean that the government steps in and tells doctors how they have to practice by establishing evidence-based guidelines that can’t be overridden or changed in any way. That view, unfortunately, is just plain wrong, and explains how the public’s misconceptions remain one of the greatest barriers to improving our health care system.

Brad Wright is a health policy doctoral student who blogs at Wright on Health.

Submit a guest post and be heard.

Prev

Thinspiration and pro-ana sites perpetuate eating disorders

July 20, 2010 Kevin 1
…
Next

Participatory medicine and evidence from medical journals

July 20, 2010 Kevin 4
…

Tagged as: Patients, Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Thinspiration and pro-ana sites perpetuate eating disorders
Next Post >
Participatory medicine and evidence from medical journals

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Brad Wright, PhD

  • If your hospital closes, does patient care suffer?

    Brad Wright, PhD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    We have the power to prevent disease. But we’re not using it.

    Brad Wright, PhD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    The uninsured rate has fallen, but it may soon rise

    Brad Wright, PhD

More in Policy

  • Why the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is essential to saving lives

    J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD
  • Brooklyn hepatitis C cluster reveals hidden dangers in outpatient clinics

    Don Weiss, MD, MPH
  • Why nearly 800 U.S. hospitals are at risk of shutting down

    Harry Severance, MD
  • Innovation is moving too fast for health care workers to catch up

    Tiffiny Black, DM, MPA, MBA
  • How pediatricians can address the health problems raised in the MAHA child health report

    Joseph Barrocas, MD
  • How reforming insurance, drug prices, and prevention can cut health care costs

    Patrick M. O'Shaughnessy, DO, MBA
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • What street medicine taught me about healing

      Alina Kang | Education
    • Are we repeating the statin playbook with lipoprotein(a)?

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • The silent cost of choosing personalization over privacy in health care

      Dr. Giriraj Tosh Purohit | Tech
    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • A physician employment agreement term that often tricks physicians

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Finance
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
  • Recent Posts

    • A systemic plan for health worker well-being [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why pain doctors face unfair scrutiny and harsh penalties in California

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why physicians need a place to fall apart

      Annia Raja, PhD | Physician
    • The joy of teaching medicine through life’s toughest challenges

      John F. McGeehan, MD | Physician
    • Why health care can’t survive on no-fail missions alone

      Wendy Schofer, MD | Physician
    • An addiction physician’s warning about America’s next public health crisis [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 11 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • What street medicine taught me about healing

      Alina Kang | Education
    • Are we repeating the statin playbook with lipoprotein(a)?

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • The silent cost of choosing personalization over privacy in health care

      Dr. Giriraj Tosh Purohit | Tech
    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • A physician employment agreement term that often tricks physicians

      Dennis Hursh, Esq | Finance
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
  • Recent Posts

    • A systemic plan for health worker well-being [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why pain doctors face unfair scrutiny and harsh penalties in California

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why physicians need a place to fall apart

      Annia Raja, PhD | Physician
    • The joy of teaching medicine through life’s toughest challenges

      John F. McGeehan, MD | Physician
    • Why health care can’t survive on no-fail missions alone

      Wendy Schofer, MD | Physician
    • An addiction physician’s warning about America’s next public health crisis [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Health care needs public acceptance of evidence based medicine
11 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...