At Empowered Medicine, we offer medical information based on ‘evidence-based medicine’. The concept of evidence-based medicine is easy. It means that the best way to provide quality medical care is to base decisions on the best available scientific evidence. When a physician practices evidence-based medicine, patients can rest assured that they are receiving current, high quality health care based on sound scientific evidence. When a physician does not use evidence-based medicine, a patient's health may be jeopardized.

You see, there are reputable organizations out there that have put forth treatment guidelines for many of the conditions out there today. These guidelines tell us which medications have been shown to be the most cost-effective treatment for a given condition. These guidelines are published in medical journals. Examples of these guidelines include the 'ATP III' guidelines for high cholesterol and the ' JNC VII' guidelines for high blood pressure. The problem is, to have access to these guidelines, you would need to subscribe to these journals and be able to read medical jargon.

At Empowered Medicine, all of the information presented on our site is based on these guidelines and evidence-based medicine. Here, information is presented in plain, simple terms we can all understand. These guidelines are considered to be the ‘standard of practice’ for physicians. Physicians who use evidence-based medicine reference these guidelines. They don’t prescribe medications just because the drug company representative dropped off some free samples at the office. 

 Why is practicing evidence-based information important?  Consider Tom. Tom is a 55 year old man who was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Tom has high blood pressure. Other than that, Tom has no other problems. Tom received a prescription for atenolol for his high blood pressure rather than lisinopril. Unfortunately for Tom, lisinopril would have been a better choice for his blood pressure. Lisinopril (and other drugs in its class called ACE inhibitors) have been shown to significantly decrease death from heart attack and stroke in patients with diabetes.  Does this mean that Tom will suffer a heart attack or stroke? Does this mean that he will pass away sooner than he would have, had his physician practiced evidence-based medicine? Not necessarily, however, statistically speaking, the likelihood of these events happening is much greater.

Now this is an extreme example, however, it was necessary to demonstrate the concept of evidence-based medicine. As you can see it is important that your doctor use evidence-based medicine when making decisions about your health care. Evidence-based medicine means utilizing official guidelines put forth by reputable organizations to make sound medical decisions.

Information is power and with a record number of baby boomers with chronic health conditions coming onto the scene, the healthcare system is quickly becoming overwhelmed. It is more important than ever for healthcare consumers to get informed, stay current and be empowered. It is our goal to help people empower themselves with knowledge so that they can take an active role in their health care.

At Empowered Medicine, we are committed to providing healthcare consumers with the latest, evidence-based healthcare information. 

Author: Christi Larson, Pharm. D.

Dr. Larson is a Clinical Infusion Pharmacist, author of Empowered Medicine; A Guide for Consumers and creator of www.empoweredmedicine.com. You can read more about her by visiting www.EmpoweredMedicine.com and clicking on the 'About Us' tab.  EmpoweredMedicine.com is committed to providing evidence-based medical information.