Our dermatologist Dr Mara is a strong advocate for evidence-based medicine — the practice of using evidence from well-designed and well-conducted clinical research when treating patients. She has a Masters in Clinical Trials from the University of London and enjoys delivering evidence-based lectures to doctors and laymen.
At the Databeers Manila meetup #4, Dr Mara lectured on “Bad data, Bad science.” She discussed 3 red flags when hearing about a scientific research or breakthrough, using three specific examples: the downfall of medtech startup Theranos, a fake chocolate-accelerates-weight-loss-study that was created by a journalist to show the world how bad science can make big headlines, and the autism—vaccine (non-)association — where it all started and what is the real deal.
With these examples, Dr Mara enumerated these red flags: 1) There is no data (particularly in medical journals), 2) There are too many tests done on the data (multiplicity), and 3) The data cannot be replicated.
In Dr Mara’s words, “Data is not meant to be intimidating. Data is meant to be welcomed, understood and put into good use, not only in policy making, developing start-ups and increasing business revenues, but also in patient care. Evidence-based medicine must be the cornerstone of any medical practice.”
Congratulations for another successful speaking engagement, Dr Mara! Your Levana Dermatology Clinic is proud of you!
