patients who receive more medicine don’t achieve better health outcomes. Still, these are just correlational studies, leaving open the possibility that some hidden factors are influencing the outcomes, and that somehow (despite the absence of correlation) more medicine really does improve our health. To really make a strong case, then, we need to turn to the scientific gold standard: the randomized controlled study. This can better reveal if increased medical care actually causes better outcomes. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.
