Knowing and Acting in Medical Practice: The Epistemological Politics of Outcomes Research

摘要: Recent health care policymaking favors outcomes research as a response to the putative ineffectiveness, well undeniable expense, of American medicine. This small-scale ethnographic study conducted in department internal medicine evaluates claims that probabilistic knowledge will improve clinical practice. It finds physicians are primarily determinists and although they reason probabilistically some instances, rely on personal experience over data at these times; doctors view useful but not definitive no way immune social influences medical generally; their mix determinism probabilism is suited nature work. The recent ascendancy much political scientific, empowering community relative practicing physicians, lending legitimacy payer-promulgated practice guidelines, creating additional work around false standard certainty.