Having good evidence to inform difficult decisions can be politically attractive, as shown, for example, by the US Government's decision to include US$1.1 billion for comparative research (including ...systematic reviews and clinical trials) as part of its $787 billion economic stimulus bill.3 To paraphrase Billy Beane, Newt Gingrich, and John Kerry, who have argued for a health-care system that is driven by robust comparative clinical evidence by substituting policy makers for doctors: Evidence-based health care would not strip policymakers of their decision-making authority nor replace their expertise. Because professionals sometimes do more harm than good when they intervene in the lives of other people, their policies and practices should be informed by rigorous, transparent, up-to-date evaluations.
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