Viewpoint: Moving beyond evidence-based medicine.

Viewpoint: Moving beyond evidence-based medicine. Research Abstract Details 

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Viewpoint: Moving beyond evidence-based medicine. Abstract Text:

Stephen G Henry,Richard M Zaner,Robert S Dittus,

The evidence-based medicine movement has remained both well known and controversial since its inception. The authors reframe the evidence-based medicine debate by pointing out an underappreciated epistemological deficiency: evidence-based medicine as currently conceptualized cannot accommodate concepts that resist quantitative analysis and therefore cannot logically differentiate human beings from complex machines. The authors use Michael Polanyi's philosophy of tacit knowing (which refers to the taken-for-granted knowledge at the periphery of attention that allows persons to understand the world and discern meaning in it) as a starting point for rectifying this deficiency and for working towards an improved, person-centered epistemology of medical practice. The authors demonstrate that not only evidence-based medicine but also most traditional theories of medical practice need a concept such as tacit knowing to account for the kinds of knowledge human beings actually use. Polanyi's philosophy of tacit knowing is defined and briefly explained. A medical epistemology that can account for the tacit dimension of human knowledge and recognize physicians and patients as persons requires a revised conception of medical uncertainty and a recognition that clinician-patient interactions are central to medicine. The authors discuss practical implications of tacit knowing for medical practice, education, research, and health care policy and suggest ways for moving beyond evidence-based medicine towards a comprehensive epistemology of medical practice.

Viewpoint: Moving beyond evidence-based medicine. Publishing Authors By Initials

SG Henry,RM Zaner,RS Dittus,

For similar humanities: philosophy: philosophy, medical research abstracts see: humanities: philosophy: philosophy, medical research

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Viewpoint: Moving beyond evidence-based medicine. Journal Published:

PUBLICATION TYPE: Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov

Journal: Academic medicine : journal of the Association of

VOLUME: 82

Page Numbers: 292-7

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ISSN: 1040-2446

DAY: 3

MONTH: Mar

YEAR: 2007

Viewpoint: Moving beyond evidence-based medicine. Information

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LANGUAGE: eng

NlmUniqueID: 8904605

Viewpoint: Moving beyond evidence-based medicine. Keywords Mesh Terms:

KEYWORDS: Philosophy, Medical

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Grant and Affiliation Information for Viewpoint: Moving beyond evidence-based medicine.

AFFILIATION: University of Michigan Health System, Department of Internal Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. henrstep@med.umich.edu

Country: United States

AGENCY: United States NCRR

GRANT: M01 RR00095

ACRONYM: RR

MEDLINETA: Acad Med

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