President Barack Obama, at a June 15 address on health care reform to the American Medical Association in Chicago, said that investments in expanding comparative effectiveness research and evidence-based medicine will not be used to limit physician flexibility in treatment decisions,
"Let me be clear, I want to clear something up here: identifying what works is not about dictating what kind of care should be provided," the president declared. "It's about providing patients and doctors with information they need to make the best medical decisions. I have the assumption that if you have good information about what makes your patients well, that's what you're going to do. I have confidence in that. We're not going to need to force you to do it; we just need to make sure you've got the best information available."
The words are the right words. But actions, as they say, speak louder.
"Let me be clear, I want to clear something up here: identifying what works is not about dictating what kind of care should be provided," the president declared. "It's about providing patients and doctors with information they need to make the best medical decisions. I have the assumption that if you have good information about what makes your patients well, that's what you're going to do. I have confidence in that. We're not going to need to force you to do it; we just need to make sure you've got the best information available."
The words are the right words. But actions, as they say, speak louder.
