Evidence-based medicine in the clinic

July 24, 2006

This doctor has it incorporated in his EHR:

The doctor still makes a diagnosis, but the computer brings back information on tests that work, tests that don’t work, remedies that work, remedies that are used but don’t work, and even remedies that many doctors didn’t know would work.

For example, Willey showed the computer’s reply to a diagnosis of an ear infection that was caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Conventional medicine says the most common antibiotic, amoxicillin, doesn’t work on resistant bacteria. But the information in the computer said studies had shown that doubling the dosage of amoxicillin would cure the infection and was safe.





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