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Richard J. Baron, MD

JAMA. 1986;255(24):3404-3405.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Those of us who see patients are impressed on a daily basis by all the things we do not understand and cannot explain. When we try to make sense of patients who have symptoms but no diseases, or when we try to comprehend why patients do not take medicine or do not follow our recommendations, we discover that the traditional biomedical paradigm leaves us without enlightening concepts or language.

Nobody wants to have a stroke; having high blood pressure increases the risk of stroke; taking antihypertensive medication lowers blood pressure and risk of stroke. Therefore, everybody with high blood pressure wants to take his or her medicine. Quod erat demonstrandum. But somehow it does not work out that way. Somebody walks in with belly pain. We arrange an exhaustive gastrointestinal workup that proves normal. We call the patient and say: "Great news! There's nothing wrong with you!" Surprisingly, the patient . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Medical College of Pennsylvania Philadelphia

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