Knowledge and Ignorance in the Care of Chronic Disease
Authors: John Santa, Marvin M. Lipman
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2013)

EditorialsAugust 6, 2013Knowledge and Ignorance in the Care of Chronic DiseaseJohn Santa, MD, MPH and Marvin M. Lipman, MDJohn Santa, MD, MPHFrom Consumer Reports, Yonkers, New York.Search for more papers by this author and Marvin M. Lipman, MDFrom Consumer Reports, Yonkers, New York.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-159-3-201308060-00015 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail In his recent book, Ignorance: How It Drives Science, Dr. Stuart Firestein, professor and chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University, suggests that we may understand more by appreciating the ignorance that good science creates rather than focusing only on the knowledge (1):But there is another, less pejorative sense of ignorance that describes a particular condition of knowledge: the absence of fact, understanding, insight, or clarity about something. It is not an individual lack of information but a communal gap in knowledge. It is a case where data don't exist, or more commonly where the existing ...References1. Firestein S. Ignorance: How It Drives Science. New York Oxford Univ Pr 2012. Google Scholar2. Adair R, Wholey DR, Christianson J, White KM, Britt H, and Lee S. Improving chronic disease care by adding laypersons to the primary care team. A parallel randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2013;159:176-84. LinkGoogle Scholar3. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Best Performing States Across All Measures in Overall Health Care: Minnesota. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2013. Accessed at http://statesnapshots.ahrq.gov/snaps11/overall_quality.jsp?menuId=5&state=MN&level=0&region=0&compGroup=N&compRegion=-1 on 24 June 2013. Google Scholar4. What Doctors Wish Their Patients Knew. Consumer Reports. March 2011:20-3. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Consumer Reports, Yonkers, New York.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M13-1437.Corresponding Author: John Santa, MD, MPH, Consumer Reports, 101 Truman Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10701.Current Author Addresses: Drs. Santa and Lipman: Consumer Reports, 101 Truman Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10701. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoImproving Chronic Disease Care by Adding Laypersons to the Primary Care Team Richard Adair , Douglas R. Wholey , Jon Christianson , Katie M. White , Heather Britt , and Suhna Lee Metrics August 6, 2013Volume 159, Issue 3Page: 225-226KeywordsBehaviorClinical decision support systemsEatingExerciseEye diseasesFoodHealth services researchHeart failureHypertensionMorbidityPatientsPhysiciansPrimary hypertensionSedentary behaviorTestosterone ePublished: 6 August 2013 Issue Published: August 6, 2013 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2013 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...