Trust and Medical Science

Concerned citizens will march this weekend to defend science. Standing up for science is a worthy cause. Look at what medical science has accomplished in recent times: serious diseases, HIV, heart attack, many forms of cancer, have been tamed by the advance of science. We need more not less science. It’s nuts to cut funding to the NIH. But science, especially medical science, has a trust problem. My editor at theheart.org | Medscape Cardiology asked me to write a piece exploring the broken trust. The title of the essay is: Want More Trust in Medical Science? Embrace Uncertainty and Cut the Hype The essay has three sections. I first addressed the lack of skepticism among my colleagues. I argue that doctors have become a rapturous audience for medical news. We too easily accept flawed evidence. Our embrace of a flawed dissolving coronary stent and a left atrial appendage closure device serve as good examples of misplaced optimism. In the second section of the essay, I explore the problem with overselling science. Here’s an except: Science does not do itself. Humans—bent on having a successful academic career—do science. This means positive results can become the goal rather than the pursuit of scientific truth. I spent three paragraphs on evangelism over screening healthy people. It crushes the public trust to say “screening saves lives” when the evidence doesn’t support the claim. This is not a typo. I cite numerous studies that show common sc...
Source: Dr John M - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: blogs