Ending Medical Reversal: Improving Outcomes, Saving Lives
by Vinayak K. Prasad /
2015 / English / EPUB
2.2 MB Download
We expect medicine to progress in an orderly fashion, with good
medical practices being replaced by better ones. But some tests
and therapies are discontinued because they are found to be
worse, or at least no better, than what they replaced.
Medications like Vioxx and procedures such as vertebroplasty for
back pain caused by compression fractures are among the medical
"advances" that turned out to be dangerous or useless. What Dr.
Vinayak K. Prasad and Dr. Adam S. Cifu call
We expect medicine to progress in an orderly fashion, with good
medical practices being replaced by better ones. But some tests
and therapies are discontinued because they are found to be
worse, or at least no better, than what they replaced.
Medications like Vioxx and procedures such as vertebroplasty for
back pain caused by compression fractures are among the medical
"advances" that turned out to be dangerous or useless. What Dr.
Vinayak K. Prasad and Dr. Adam S. Cifu callmedical
reversal
medical
reversal happens when doctors start using a medication,
procedure, or diagnostic tool without a robust evidence base―and
then stop using it when it is found not to help, or even to harm,
patients.
happens when doctors start using a medication,
procedure, or diagnostic tool without a robust evidence base―and
then stop using it when it is found not to help, or even to harm,
patients.
Drs. Prasad and Cifu narrate fascinating stories from every
corner of medicine to explore why medical reversals occur, how
they are harmful, and what can be done to avoid them. They
explore the difference between medical innovations that improve
care and those that only appear to be promising. They also
outline a comprehensive plan to reform medical education,
research funding and protocols, and the process for approving new
drugs that will ensure that more of what gets done in doctors’
offices and hospitals is truly effective.
Drs. Prasad and Cifu narrate fascinating stories from every
corner of medicine to explore why medical reversals occur, how
they are harmful, and what can be done to avoid them. They
explore the difference between medical innovations that improve
care and those that only appear to be promising. They also
outline a comprehensive plan to reform medical education,
research funding and protocols, and the process for approving new
drugs that will ensure that more of what gets done in doctors’
offices and hospitals is truly effective.