mainstream medicine


mainstream medicine

A general term for conventional healthcare based on the “Western model” of evidence-based practice for diagnosing and treating disease. Mainstream medicine assumes that all physiologic and pathological phenomena can be explained in concrete terms, and “best practice” is the end result of a stream of objective analyses which begin with nonhuman model systems, evolve through blinded studies and statistical analysis of those results, and end with guidelines to which doctors adhere to achieve optimal patient outcomes.

mainstream medicine

Allopathic medicine, allopathy, conventional medicine, modern medicine, orthodox medicine, traditional medicine, Western medicine Clinical medicine The approach to health care practiced in developed nations, based on scientific data for diagnosing and treating disease; MM assumes that all physiologic and pathological phenomena can be explained in concrete terms; tools of MM include nonhuman model systems, blinded studies, statistical analysis, to ensure reproducible results. Cf Alternative medicine.