Published 7 November 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a2438
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a2438

Editorials

The BMJ Evidence Centre

A new, reactive, and innovative approach to healthcare information

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

Michael Rawlins is right. In his Harveian Oration at the Royal College of Physicians last month he clearly signalled the medical profession’s overuse of randomised controlled trials to guide clinical decision making.1 Randomised controlled trials have had a long and influential relationship with the medical profession. Milestones in this relationship include James Lind and his controlled trial of lime juice for scurvy in 1747,2 and Bradford Hill’s trial of streptomycin for pulmonary tuberculosis in 19483; both trials championed this experimental approach to answering clinical questions. Perhaps Michael Rawlins will be similarly influential, but in the opposite direction—by emphasising the dangers of relying too much on randomised controlled trials almost to the exclusion of other types of useful information.

Healthcare information, or evidence, varies in its source, quality, and usefulness. Information derived from research may be experimental, from randomised controlled trials, or observational. Information may be derived from groups of . . . [Full text of this article]

Charles Young, editor 1, Fiona Godlee, editor2

1 BMJ Point of Care, BMJ Best Practice, and BMJ Clinical Evidence, London WC1H 9JR, 2 BMJ, London WC1H 9JR

cyoung@bmjgroup.com


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