Danger of assumptions

“Personalised therapy!”

It is rarely possible to know in advance who will benefit, who will not, and who will have problems because of a specific therapy.

fair comparisons of therapies usually tell us what happened in a group of people. There are very few, if any interventions that have exactly the same effect on everyone. Usually, in a group of people that receive a therapy, there are some who benefit, some who do not, and some who experience problems. When you see an SLT, it is not possible to know in advance if you will be one of the people who benefits, one of the people who does not benefit, or one of the people who experiences problems.

The only way to know whether “personalised therapy”- tailoring treatment for individuals – works is to test it in fair comparisons. Unless the tailored therapy is 100% effective and 100% safe, it is still not possible to know in advance exactly who will benefit from “personalised care” and who will not. “Personalised therapy” is not really tailored for each individual; it is simply an effort to identify those people who are most likely to benefit from specific therapies.

BEWARE of claims about “personalised therapy” that have not been evaluated in fair comparisons.

REMEMBER: It is rarely possible to know in advance who will benefit, who will not, and who have problems with a specific therapy.