When I started in evidence-based medicine, it was a big shock that probably the most under-researched area of health is how health practitioners should diagnose illness; i.e. “diagnostic strategies”. Individual studies and systematic reviews have focused on drugs and interventions, but it is now recognised that such reviews are also necessary to evaluate diagnostic tests. In children, clinical signs (e.g.

Read full article

So much of modern medicine is about tests and making diagnoses on the basis of the results, that old school doctors often lament the death of the stethoscope and the traditional clinical skills of the physician. Not only are patients entering hospitals and general practices immediately hit by a battery of X-rays, blood tests, scans and other specialised tests; many tests are available for home use by the patients themselves, e.g. home glucose monitoring, home ultrasound probes for antenatal scans and electronic blood pressure meters.

Read full article