Would evidence-based regulation improve the practice and management of patient care?
The use of evidence to achieve sound medical diagnoses and optimal treatment plans is considered a standard of practice for healthcare providers. Indeed, failure to do so is prima facie evidence of malpractice. Health and medical care managers have begun espousing a similar philosophy: to make decisions that are data-driven rather than based on logic, intuition, personal preference, or last experience. Unfortunately, regulatory policies and practices in patient care are not always founded upon strong evidence. As a result, unintended consequences often surface after the passage of legislation or the adoption of policies by nongovernmental entities. These dysfunctions might be avoided if policymakers embraced evidence-based protocols commonly found throughout medicine and its management. This paper reviews the dilemmas that unfold when policy is formed without giving sufficient attention, in advance, to "hard" evidence.
Children's Hospital Heart Center, Health Sciences Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
J Deane
JD
Waldman
Howard L
HL
Smith
D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008318:Malpractice; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D011216:Practice Management, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*