Evidence-based medicine

A fascinating book I recommend is Jerome Groopman's How Doctors Think? Maybe you are wondering why am I mentioning it in this blog. Well, there is a connection to Analytics.

Dr.Groopman believes that today’s physicians are increasingly encouraged to behave as if they were computers, and to reason from flowcharts and algorithms. This is intended to produce better diagnoses and fewer errors; it is also embraced by insurance companies, who use it to decide which tests and treatments to approve. This approach can be useful for “run-of-the-mill diagnosis and treatment — distinguishing strep throat from viral pharyngitis, for example,” Groopman writes. But it can be limiting for difficult cases.

Another observation: Why are doctors such good writers? Atul Gawande and Michael Crichton are two names that come readily to mind. Dr. Groopman himself writes regulary for The New Yorker. Check out his web-site which has links to many of his pieces and to his blog.