How much of orthodox medicine is evidence based?

doi:10.1136/bmj.39388.393970.1F

BMJ 2007;335:951 (10 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.39388.393970.1F

Letters

What to do about CAM?

How much of orthodox medicine is evidence based?

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Scientific heavyweights deplore the NHS money wasted on unprovedand disproved treatments used by practitioners of complementaryand alternative medicine (CAM),¹ ² but Lewith, a CAM proponent[see previous letter], is cited elsewhere as saying that theBMJ reckons that 50% of the treatments used in general practicearen't proved, and 5% are pretty harmful but still being used.³

His data were taken from the BMJ Clinical Evidence website (http://clinicalevidence.com/ceweb/about/knowledge/jsp,viewed 6 May 2007). A pie chart indicates that, of about 2500treatments supported by good evidence, only 15% of treatmentswere rated as beneficial, 22% as likely to be beneficial, 7%part beneficial and part harmful, 5% unlikely to be beneficial,4% likely to be ineffective or harmful, and in the remaining47% the effect of the treatment was "unknown." The text says,"The figures suggest that the research community has a largetask ahead and that most . . . [Full text of this article]

John S Garrow, vice chairman, HealthWatch

The Dial House, Rickmansworth WD3 7DQ

johngarrow@aol.com

CiteULike

Complore

Connotea

Del.icio.us Add to Digg

Digg

StumbleUpon Add to Technorati

Technorati What's this?

Relevant Articles

Dead: John H Noble, Jr
BMJ 2007 335: 736. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Wham, bam, thank you CAM: Douglas Kamerow
BMJ 2007 335: 647. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

Lewith, G., Robinson, N. (2009). Complementary and alternative medicine: what the public want and how it may be delivered safely and effectively. JRSM 102: 411-414 [Full text]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Valuing Research: George T Lewith
bmj.com, 16 Nov 2007 [Full text]
Taxpayer funding of CAM research: John S. Garrow
bmj.com, 19 Nov 2007 [Full text]
Funding for alternative medicine research: David Colquhoun
bmj.com, 19 Nov 2007 [Full text]
Adequate funding?: George T Lewith
bmj.com, 26 Nov 2007 [Full text]
Re: Funding for alternative medicine research: John P Heptonstall
bmj.com, 27 Nov 2007 [Full text]