Zurich Resolution for Evidence-based Medicine

Adopted on Denkfest Festival, Zurich, 12 September 2014

Evidence-based medicine, i.e. medicine whose effectiveness is scientifically tested, is a cornerstone of our modern society. Never before has our quality of life been as high; never before have we been able to treat and prevent diseases in such a targeted manner; never before have we been able to save human lives as successfully.

However, evidence-based medicine is neither self-evident nor irrefutable. There are currently at least two problems that undermine the evidence-based foundation of modern medicine:

• So-called complementary and alternative medicine offers are very popular. Advocates of these offers are often not interested in scientifically testing whether what they offer is effective. But how can we reliably find out what works and what doesn't - if not through the scientific approach? Turning away from science means turning away from medical progress.
• To scientifically examine whether medical therapies work is then and only then effective if all the results of the research are really published. At the moment this is not the case. In the field of pharmaceutical research, for example, many results of clinical studies are never published. Not publishing all data can lead to a distorted picture of the efficacy of drugs.

These problems pose a danger because our health system can only thrive when it is based on evidence-based medicine. We therefore call on scientific and political actors, as well as all citizens, to advocate evidence-based medicine.

Specifically, two measures are to be implemented in order to strengthen evidence-based medicine:

• All therapeutic and diagnostic services offered in state-regulated health care must demonstrate scientific evidence of their effectiveness.
• All results of clinical research on therapeutic and diagnostic services must be published. In addition, it must be documented which methods were used to obtain these results.

Zurich, 12 September 2014