title: [When do we need scientific evidence?].
abstract: On various occasions in clinical research we may encounter the statement that "the probability of a research claim being true" is of major interest. The authors then claim that this probability is low and draw further conclusions about the limitations of clinical research in general. Such claims are unfounded. However, it may be useful to assess the additional information that may be gained from new trial results and use them to decide whether and in which situations clinical trials actually need to be conducted in order to answer particular clinical research questions.
authors.affiliation: Medizinischer Dienst des Spitzenverbandes Bund der Krankenkassen e.V. Essen. j.windeler@MDS-ev.de
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Windeler
mesh_terms: D001499:Bayes Theorem; D006801:Humans; D011336:Probability; D012106:Research / Q000592:standards*; D014342:Truth Disclosure / Q000941:ethics*