Evidence-Based Medicine on Trial—Reply
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dmerenstein@jhu.edu
Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program
Johns Hopkins Medical School
Baltimore, Md
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- evidence-based medicine
- informed consent
- jurisprudence
- liability, legal
- malpractice
- quality of health care
In Reply: I wrote my essay as catharsis for myself and with the hope that it might bring to light some of the problems in our current health care system. I never anticipated the response it has generated, and I hope this initial interest helps lead to some changes. I have heard from physicians, lawyers, and laypeople from literally around the world and have appreciated every call and letter. Drs Bicket, Hogan, Morse, and Watts' letters of support are also greatly appreciated.
Mr Hall and his colleagues obviously spent a lot of time studying my case, but I am doubtful of their conclusions. Hall states, "Merenstein's trial established no legal principle about EBM." My essay never claimed or even implied that a legal principle was established. Rather, what I tried to convey was the troubling state of the medicojudicial system in the United States, a system in which a physician …
