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1-4 Common practice is not always evidence-based

Treatments that have not been properly evaluated but are widely used or have been used for a long time are often assumed to work. Sometimes, however, they may be unsafe or of doubtful benefit.

Do not assume that treatments are beneficial or safe simply because they are widely used or have been used for a long time, unless this has been shown in systematic reviews of fair comparisons of treatments.

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Sunn Skepsis

Denne portalen er ment å gi deg som pasient råd om kvalitetskriterier for helseinformasjon og tilgang til forskningsbasert informasjon.

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Breast cancer

The treatment of breast cancer provides another example of professional uncertainty. There is considerable variability in the use of surgery, […]

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Biased ethics

‘If a clinician tries a new therapy with the idea of studying it carefully, evaluating outcomes, and publishing the results, […]

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Believing is seeing

The British doctor Richard Asher noted in one of his essays for doctors: ‘If you can believe fervently in your […]

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When practitioners disagree

In this sub-section Introduction (this page) Caffeine for breathing problems in premature babies Antibiotics in pre-term labour Breast cancer Introduction […]

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The Screening Circus

In 2009, a recently retired professor of neurology with a long-standing interest in stroke prevention learnt that neighbours had received […]

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Diethylstilboestrol

At one time, doctors were uncertain whether pregnant women who had previously had miscarriages and stillbirths could be helped by […]

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GET-IT provides plain language definitions of health research terms