Lecture: How to evaluate supplements
Over the past twenty years of practice I have evaluated thousands of supplements; something I have truly enjoyed. I recently gave a grand...
Islon Woolf MD
Jan 27, 20191 min read
top of page
786 471 8955 (Call or Text)
786 524 8204 (Fax)
Critical Thinking in Medicine
Blog
Patients are Vulnerable to False Claims
Healthcare is filled with thousands of claims; most are untrue. Your inability to assess these claims renders you vulnerable. This blog aims to equip you with the basic skills necessary to evaluate healthcare claims for yourself.
The Hierarchy of Medical Evidence
Evaluating a claim in healthcare can be simplified once you understand three simple rules:
1. A claim is only as strong as the evidence behind it.
2. Medical evidence falls into only a few distinct categories.
3. Each category is predictably reliable, and can be ranked into a hierarchy.
4. To evaluate a claim, simply identify its evidence and where it falls in the hierarchy.
Use The Hierarchy to Evaluate a Claim
Suppose you believe a treatment works because a friend had a good result, this is anecdotal evidence. It sits near the bottom of the evidence hierarchy. We are easily fooled by anecdotes due to a host of reasons, such as: placebo effects, the natural history of the disease, or concurrent treatments. Unless you have stronger evidence - or a reason why this anecdote is more reliable than the millions that have fooled us before - this treatment is unlikely to work.
Find our most recent posts and a sign-up form below.
Also, don't hesitate to explore Dr Woolf's lectures on YouTube.
bottom of page