Why is science and the objective generation of evidence so critical for health care?

Ann Bonham, Ph.D., chief scientific officer AAMC, says we need to make research a priority for population health.

Transcript

What we have to confront in our own nation is: Do we have a national commitment to funding research to improve health?

Well, imagine if we have a population that's not healthy, that doesn't have access to the best care that science underpinned. Imagine that absent science we have no idea what works best for whom, in what context, and why.

So how can we confront those challenges? The power of science brings an evidence base to that that really separates it from unguarded or unfounded opinion. So once we have the power of science, we can think about health in terms of improving the health of an individual patient but also of that patient's family, of the community, and the population, many of whom are vulnerable. And I think once we talk about reframing that for innovation as to improving health through all of those, then some of our other challenges may fall away.