Main description:

This open access book aims to clarify the term "evidence-based medicine" (EBM) from a philosophy of science perspective. The author, Marie-Caroline Schulte discusses the importance of evi-dence in medical research and practice with a focus on the ethical and methodological prob-lems of EBM. The claims that EBM can herald a new theory of epistemology and a Kuhnian paradigm will be refuted. The solution is to describe EBM as a necessary development in medicine to deal with the increasing amount of evidence and medical data without loosing the single patient out of sight.

Contents:

The methodology of evidence-based research.- Informed consent and shared decision making in EBM (Evidence-based medicine).- Knowledge does not equal evidence - what to do with what we have evidence for?.- Homeopathy - a case in point why EBM is so important - or "the plural of anecdote is not data." .