In response to the reception of 'The illusion of evidence based medicine' (BMJ, 2022)

Jon Jureidini

There has been huge interest in our recently published essay in the BMJ, The illusion of evidence based medicine (BMJ 2022; 376 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o702, published 16 March 2022).

This is of course gratifying, but we have two concerns. Some readers have mistakenly characterised our position as undermining or disparaging evidence-based medicine. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are strong proponents of the importance of evidence in medicine and opposed to all who disregard good science, whether anti-vaxxers or big pharma. Indeed in our book [1], we have praised the 1990s innovation of evidence-based medicine as one of the most important advances in the scientific foundation of health care. We only seek to set forth solutions that would make it a reality rather than an illusion. 

Second, we note that some Twitter users have celebrated our piece as the BMJ giving tacit support to anti-vaxxer sentiments and other unscientific conclusions. Be reassured, we (and BMJ) apply the same rigour to reasoning and spurious claims put forward by alternative medicine or interest groups such as scientology as we do to material produced by the academic-pharmaceutical complex.

[1] Jureidini J., McHenry L. The Illusion of Evidence-Based Medicine: Exposing the crisis of credibility in clinical research. Wakefield Press, 2020. https://www.wakefieldpress.com.au/product.php?productid=1613.