Ok. Bear with me. It is not often I get to repeat this phrase, but here is goes, ‘I told you so!’. Of course what I’m talking about is the topic we are always talking about on EmpoweredMedicine.com. That topic is ‘evidence-based medicine’.

If you visit our site frequently, you know that we stress the importance of basing medical decisions on ‘evidence-based medicine’. Evidence-based medicine means utilizing guidelines that are based on sound scientific evidence and are put forth by reputable organizations, to make medical decisions. For example, if you have diabetes and high blood pressure, your doctor (if she practices evidence-based medicine) will likely prescribe a drug called an ‘ACE inhibitor’. This is because this class of medications has been shown to act as a ‘kidney protectant’ in people with diabetes.

In general, these evidence-based guidelines have been established using years of data.  This data has shown which medications are the most effective and have the least number of side effects for a particular medical condition.

Insurance companies have finally recognized the potential impact that following evidence-based medicine can have on our health. As a result, they have started to pay providers based on how well they practice evidence-based medicine. Under the model, called ‘pay for performance’, doctors and other health care providers are rewarded for how well they manage their patients health. Interesting concept? Here’s how it works.

Insurance companies now have access to a variety of data including lab results, vaccinations and of course, our health conditions and med list.  When they see that a medication is being prescribed for a particular health condition in accordance with established guidelines, the doctor, pharmacy and others involved are reimbursed at a higher rate. Prescribing medications that do not follow established guidelines may result in denied claims and decreased payments to the providers.

As you can imagine, this produces a strong incentive for doctors and other providers to use evidence-based medicine.  So why aren’t more using them? Currently only about half of accepted treatment guidelines are followed by providers. Well, to their defense there are quite a few of them. Also some of them can contradict each other. Most of the contradictions, however, are fairly minor.

Until the use of evidence-based medicine becomes an everyday occurrence in medicine, we would encourage health care consumers to empower themselves with knowledge about the guidelines whenever possible. Knowledge enables the consumer to talk with their doctor more effectively with regard to the guidelines. Effective communication can help determine if you doctor is following the guidelines or not.

As always, all of the information presented on EmpoweredMedicine.com is based on evidence-based medicine. Please visit us frequently as we are always introducing new articles and information. We look forward to seeing you soon!