Empiricism: How much, how little

Abstract

The practice of medicine was completely empirical in the beginning and the growth of technology added newer tools to the diagnostic kit. As the kit grew larger, there was a reciprocal diminution in the empiricism. The practice of medicine at the extremes of empiricism and evidence based medicine are not entirely desirable. Every physician should keep his clinical skills finely tuned and also acquire a well-balanced view of the utility and futility of any newly introduced diagnostic and therapeutic tools.