Science, Health and the Inauguration
"We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. " -- President Barack Obama, Inauguration Address, January 20, 2009
President Obama's declaration of a restoration of science is a noble goal. But we ask the question, whose science? The science of pharmaceutical companies that hide data to "prove" that their drugs are effective and not harmful? The science that forgets to run proper controls in clinical trials? The science of researchers attempting to disprove the efficacy of natural treatments that use the wrong part of the plant in their studies?
Science offers us greater insight into the best forms of healthcare, healthcare delivery and outcomes. Science will allow us to achieve the goal that President Obama spoke of during the inauguration. But it requires a willingness to see truth regardless of what we believe to be true or how much money we can make. Medical science has been particularly guilty of that in recent years as drug companies have hidden results of outcome studies 1, insurance companies have cooked how to reimburse for procedures 2, or taking money to say something is effective when the research suggests otherwise. 3
As a group, medical professionals must be aware of our personal responsibility to ensure that decisions that we make for our patients are safe and effective. We must gather the data ourselves and make informed decisions. It is not enough to take spoon-fed information. We must look at the options and decide which is best. Science is not only the research that happens in a lab. It happens when we treat patients with a remedy and see if it helps the particular patient.
- 1. http://www.newser.com/story/48032/eli-lilly-to-pay-14b-plead-guilty-in-m... Viewed 1/22/09
- 2. http://www.ehealtheurope.net/news/4497/united_healthcare_settles_on_‘f... read 1/22/09
- 3. http://www.naturalnews.com/024737.html viewed 1/22/09
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