[Communication Problems in Evidence-based Medicine]

From a humanistic, social scientific perspective, the most complex task in evidence-based medicine lies in the communication of specialized medical knowledge to non-professionals. Information is never simply the neutral transmission of facts, not even when dealing with scientific knowledge and research. It is always interpreted and evaluated from a particular perspective in a specific context. That information can be neutral is thus a myth. In all medical consultations the process of communication is not just a matter of transmitting information from one who knows to one who does not. Knowledge created and formulated in a scientific context is thus recontextualised first in a clinical situation and then as an interpreted version in people's real lives. Furthermore there are difficulties when practice must be based on current research, in a situation in which no prior clinical experience exists and in which results are interpreted and used regardless of the relative certainty of current evidence.