Acupuncture: from current “evident effects” to future “evidence of effectiveness”

Dr. Alejandro Elorriaga Claraco (MD) Spain, Director McMaster Contemporary Medical Acupuncture Program
Dr. Angelica Fargas-Babjak, Chair McMaster Contemporary Medical Acupuncture Program

Introduction
Current standards of practice of medicine require from clinicians the commitment to an evidence based medicine (EBM) approach. Regarding the selection of a given therapeutic intervention an EBM approach means the judicious use of the best available evidence of effectiveness of that intervention in similar cases (from the scientific literature), integrated with the clinician’s experience, the patient’s preferences, and taking on account the availability of resources. In this manner, a true EBM approach allows clinicians the integration of very different levels of evidence into individual treatment plans that are both medically reasonable and ethically acceptable. Thus, unlike what some practitioners may still think regarding EBM, in clinical practice it is not necessary to provide the highest degree of scientific proof in order to integrate judiciously a safe and potentially beneficial therapeutic intervention into an individual treatment plan.

Read the full article: Acupuncture: from current “evident effects” to future “evidence of effectiveness” (pdf)