The Reality of Western Medicine.

When former airline pilot Tony Royle came to see his cardiologist to seek reassurance that it was OK to participate in an Ironman event, having stopped all his medications 18 months after suffering a heart attack, the cardiologist was initially a little alarmed. But after talking to him, he realised that tonny had made an informed decision to stop the medication after suffering side effects, and instead had opted for a diet and lifestyle approach to manage his heart disease.

His case is a great example of how evidence-based-medicine should be practised. This is the integration of clinical expertise, the best available evidence and – most importantly – taking patients’ preferences and values into consideration. But our healthcare system has failed to keep to this gold standard of clinical practice for the most important goal of improving patient health outcomes.

The consequences have been devastating. Modern medicine, through over prescription, represents a major threat to public health. Peter Gøtzsche, co–founder of the reputed Cochrane Collaboration, estimates that prescribed medication is the third most common cause of death globally after heart disease and cancer. In the UK, use of prescription drugs is at an all-time high, with almost half of adults on atleast one drug and a quarter on at least three – an increase of 47% in the past decade. It’s instructive to note that life expectancy in UK is stalled since 2010, the slowdown being one of the most significant in the world’s leading economies.