Changing the culture of American Medicine — Start by removing hubris

This may be the most important post I have ever published. I’m going to tell you about a study that should change the entire way doctors approach patients, and how patients should think of prescribed treatments. These findings should begin a culture change in American medicine. Background: I used to think Medicine would get easier over time. It makes sense, right? You see patterns, you learn how treatments work, and you just get to know stuff. Experience should make it easier to diagnose and treat. That’s not been the case for me. In fact, it’s closer to the opposite. In the exam room, as I look up to the patient from my stool, and before I stand at the white board to explain, I often find myself pausing for a moment to think: Is this really the right course? Does the evidence support doing it this way? Do I know the science, or is it “just the way things are done?” I have the same problem in the hospital—perhaps worse, as there, dogma permeates most of what we do. What keeps popping into my head is the hubris of Medicine. As I grow older, the excessive pride and confidence of the medical establishment becomes more obvious. Why didn’t I see it before? In many cases, medical and surgical treatments that were once thought to be beneficial turn out to be not so. Often, these therapies were backed by expert guidelines and taught to young students as law. Think of that for a moment. We do things to people; we monitor, we medicate, and we even cut, all with th...
Source: Dr John M - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: blogs