David Sackett

David Lawrence Sackett OC FRSC (November 17,

1934 – May 13, 2015) was an American-Canadian David Sackett
physician and a pioneer in evidence-based Born David Lawrence Sackett
medicine.[1][2] He is known as one of the fathers of November 17, 1934
Evidence-Based Medicine. He founded the first Chicago, Illinois, US
department of clinical epidemiology in Canada at Died May 13, 2015 (aged 80)
McMaster University, and the Oxford Centre for Markdale, Ontario, Canada
Evidence-Based Medicine.[3] He is well known for his Known for evidence-based medicine
textbooks Clinical Epidemiology and Evidence-Based
Awards Order of Canada
Medicine.
Academic background
One of his more famous quotes is: "Half of what you
Education University of Illinois College of
learn in medical school is dead wrong." Medicine
Harvard University
Academic work
Education
Institutions McMaster University
Sackett obtained his medical degree at the University University of Oxford
of Illinois College of Medicine, and a Master of
Science in Epidemiology from Harvard University.

Career
David Sackett made seminal contributions to the science of health care and the teaching and practice of
medicine. He did so through vision (about how to improve health care through research), innovation (in
research methods for health care and education of researchers and clinicians), and engendering
collegiality and collaboration. Among his more important randomized clinical trials, and in collaboration
with colleagues around the world, he was a Principal Investigator in the trials that showed, for the first
time anywhere, the life-saving benefits of aspirin for patients with threatened stroke and threatened heart
attack, that surgically repairing the "hardened" arteries of patients with threatened stroke (carotid
endarterectomy) prevented both stroke and death, and the ability of nurse practitioners to provide
effective, high-quality primary care. In addition, his "debunking" trials showed the futility of traditional
health education in helping hypertensive patients take their medicine, and that a popular "bypass"
operation for stroke-prone individuals did more harm than good.

He repeated his residency in medicine some 20 years after first training because, although a professor in
medical school, he 'wasn't a good enough doctor.'"[4]

His contributions to research methodology included ways to detect and reduce bias in clinical research,
and ways to design, conduct, and report randomized clinical trials. David Sackett is widely regarded as
one of 3 "fathers" of modern clinical epidemiology (along with Archie Cochrane of the UK and Alvan
Feinstein of the USA). Clinical epidemiology is a research discipline based on the methods of
epidemiology (and other scientific pursuits, notably biostatistics, the behavioral sciences, and health
economics), applied to understanding the nature of health care problems and, especially, their
management. Thus, it is a bridging discipline, linking research to clinical practice. Typical topics include
the cause, diagnosis, course (prognosis, clinical prediction), prevention, treatment, and amelioration of
health disorders, and the improvement and cost-effectiveness of health services.

Sackett was the founding chair of the first department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the
world at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1967, and extensively contributed to the
development of research methods through his books and published articles, as well as through education
and lectures at McMaster and around the world. Notably, he turned clinical research into a scientifically
sound and practical, multidisciplinary "team sport" and has changed for the better the quality of health
care research and clinical practice.

In the late 1970s, Sackett began to popularize the use of clinical epidemiologic principles in the practice
of medicine and other health care disciplines, working with his former students, Brian Haynes, Peter
Tugwell, Gordon Guyatt and eventually many other clinician scientists at McMaster University and
around the world. Initially termed "critical appraisal of the medical literature", to help practitioners keep
up with scientific advances in health care, this became "evidence-based medicine". Evidence-Based
Medicine: An Oral History documents some of the highlights of the role that he and others played in the
evolution of EBM. Sackett led the writing of seminal articles on clinical disagreement and how to read
clinical journals books, beginning in 1980 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, followed by
seminal books, beginning in 1985 with Clinical Epidemiology: A Basic Science for Clinical Medicine.

In 1994, Sackett accepted an invitation from (later, Sir) Muir Gray of the UK National Health Service to
start the first Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine in Britain, as Professor of Clinical Epidemiology,
Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford.

Clinically, Sackett practiced as a general internist and was appointed Physician-in-Chief of Medicine at
the Chedoke-McMaster Hospital in Hamilton Ontario in 1986, then Head of the Division of General
Internal Medicine in 1988. In Oxford, he practiced as Honorary NHS Consultant in General Medicine.

Retired from clinical practice in 1999, he returned to Canada and created the Trout Research & Education
Centre, where he read, researched, wrote and taught about randomized clinical trials. He also authored,
with Sharon Straus, the definitive guide about mentorship for clinician scientists.[5] Along the way, he has
published 10 books, chapters for about 50 others, and about 300 papers in medical and scientific journals.
He died on May 13, 2015[6] in Markdale, Ontario.[7]

Honours
David Sackett won many awards, honorary degrees and accolades for his research, teaching and writing.
Notably, in 1992, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2000, he was inducted into
the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.[5] In 2001, he was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada.[4] In
2009, he was awarded the Gairdner Foundation Wightman Award.[6] He was awarded honorary
doctorates from the University of Bern, Switzerland, and McMaster University, Canada, and appointed as
Honorary Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, at the West China University of Medical Sciences, and
Adjunct Professor of the University of Ottawa, Canada.

Selected publications
David L Sackett: Interview in 2014 and 2015. Haynes RB (editor). 2015.
https://fhs.mcmaster.ca/ceb/docs/David_L_Sackett_Interview_in_2014_2015.pdf
Sackett DL, Haynes RB (editors). Compliance with Therapeutic Regimens. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1976.
Haynes RB, Taylor DW, Sackett DL. Compliance in Health Care. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1979. ISBN 0-8018-2162-2.
Sackett DL (1979). "Bias in analytic research". J Chronic Dis. 32 (1–2): 51–63.
doi:10.1016/0021-9681(79)90012-2 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0021-9681%2879%299001
2-2). PMID 447779 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/447779).
"Clinical disagreement I: how often it occurs, and why". Can Med Assoc J. 23 (499): 504.
1980.
"Clinical disagreement II: how to avoid it and learn from one's mistakes". Can Med Assoc J.
123 (613): 617. 1980.
"How to read clinical journals: I. Why to read them and how to start reading them critically".
Can Med Assoc J. 124 (555): 558. 1981.
Laupacis A, Sackett DL, Roberts RS (June 1988). "An assessment of clinically useful
measures of the consequences of treatment". N. Engl. J. Med. 318 (26): 1728–33.
doi:10.1056/NEJM198806303182605 (https://doi.org/10.1056%2FNEJM19880630318260
5). PMID 3374545 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3374545).
Sackett DL (February 1986). "Rules of evidence and clinical recommendations on the use of
antithrombotic agents". Chest. 89 (2): 2S – 3S. doi:10.1378/chest.89.2_supplement.2s (http
s://doi.org/10.1378%2Fchest.89.2_supplement.2s). PMID 3943408 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nl
m.nih.gov/3943408).
Sackett DL, Haynes RB, Tugwell P. Clinical epidemiology: a basic science for clinical
medicine, First edition. Boston: Little, Brown, 1985. ISBN 0-316-76595-3.
North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial Collaborators; Barnett HJM;
Taylor, D. W.; Haynes, R. B.; Sackett, D. L.; Peerless, S. J.; Ferguson, G. G.; Fox, A. J.;
Rankin, R. N.; Hachinski, V. C.; Wiebers, D. O.; Eliasziw, M. (1991). "Beneficial effect of
carotid endarterectomy in symptomatic patients with high grade carotid stenosis" (https://doi.
org/10.1056%2Fnejm199108153250701). N Engl J Med. 325 (7): 445–53.
doi:10.1056/nejm199108153250701 (https://doi.org/10.1056%2Fnejm199108153250701).
PMID 1852179 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1852179). {{cite journal}}:
|author1= has generic name (help)
Guyatt GH, Sackett DL, Cook DJ (December 1993). "Users' guides to the medical literature.
II. How to use an article about therapy or prevention. A. Are the results of the study valid?
Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group". JAMA. 270 (21): 2598–601.
doi:10.1001/jama.1993.03510210084032 (https://doi.org/10.1001%2Fjama.1993.035102100
84032). PMID 8230645 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8230645).
Guyatt GH, Sackett DL, Cook DJ (January 1994). "Users' guides to the medical literature. II.
How to use an article about therapy or prevention. B. What were the results and will they
help me in caring for my patients? Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group". JAMA. 271
(1): 59–63. doi:10.1001/jama.271.1.59 (https://doi.org/10.1001%2Fjama.271.1.59).
PMID 8258890 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8258890).
 Jaeschke R, Guyatt G, Sackett DL (February 1994). "Users' guides to the medical literature.
III. How to use an article about a diagnostic test. A. Are the results of the study valid?
Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group". JAMA. 271 (5): 389–91.
doi:10.1001/jama.1994.03510290071040 (https://doi.org/10.1001%2Fjama.1994.035102900
71040). PMID 8283589 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8283589).
Jaeschke R, Guyatt GH, Sackett DL (March 1994). "Users' guides to the medical literature.
III. How to use an article about a diagnostic test. B. What are the results and will they help
me in caring for my patients? The Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group". JAMA. 271
(9): 703–7. doi:10.1001/jama.271.9.703 (https://doi.org/10.1001%2Fjama.271.9.703).
PMID 8309035 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8309035).
Cook RJ, Sackett DL (February 1995). "The number needed to treat: a clinically useful
measure of treatment effect" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2548824).
BMJ. 310 (6977): 452–4. doi:10.1136/bmj.310.6977.452 (https://doi.org/10.1136%2Fbmj.31
0.6977.452). PMC 2548824 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2548824).
PMID 7873954 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7873954).
Sackett DL, Rosenberg WM, Gray JA, Haynes RB, Richardson WS (January 1996).
"Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn't" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti
cles/PMC2349778). BMJ. 312 (7023): 71–2. doi:10.1136/bmj.312.7023.71 (https://doi.org/1
0.1136%2Fbmj.312.7023.71). PMC 2349778 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PM
C2349778). PMID 8555924 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8555924).
Barnett HJ, Taylor DW, Eliasziw M; et al. (November 1998). "Benefit of carotid
endarterectomy in patients with symptomatic moderate or severe stenosis. North American
Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial Collaborators" (https://doi.org/10.1056%2FNEJM
199811123392002). N. Engl. J. Med. 339 (20): 1415–25.
doi:10.1056/NEJM199811123392002 (https://doi.org/10.1056%2FNEJM19981112339200
2). PMID 9811916 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9811916).
Sackett DL, Straus SE, Richardson WS, Rosenberg W, Haynes RB. Evidence-based
medicine: how to practice and teach EBM, 2nd ed. Edinburgh & New York: Churchill
Livingstone, 2000. ISBN 0-443-06240-4.
Haynes RB, Sackett DL, Guyatt GH, Tugwell P. Clinical epidemiology: how to do clinical
practice research, 3rd edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, 2006. ISBN 0-
7817-4524-1.
Straus SE, Sackett DL, Mentorship in Academic Medicine. John Wiley & Sons, 2014. Print
ISBN 9781118446027 doi:10.1002/9781118446065 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2F978111844
6065)

See also
Gordon Guyatt
David-Sackett-Preis

References
1. White B (2004). "Making evidence-based medicine doable in everyday practice". Fam Pract
Manag. 11 (2): 51–8. PMID 15011482 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15011482). Free
Full Text (http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20040200/51maki.html) Archived (https://web.archive.org/
web/20090510043114/http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20040200/51maki.html) 2009-05-10 at the
Wayback Machine.
2. Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group (1992). "Evidence-based medicine. A new
approach to teaching the practice of medicine". JAMA. 268 (17): 2420–5.
 doi:10.1001/JAMA.1992.03490170092032 (https://doi.org/10.1001%2FJAMA.1992.0349017
0092032). PMID 1404801 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1404801).
3. "Home - CEBM" (http://www.cebm.net/). CEBM. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2022
0624102549/http://www.cebm.net/) from the original on 2022-06-24. Retrieved 2007-02-10.
4. Smith, Richard (23 May 2015). "Obituaries: David Sackett" (https://www.bmj.com/bmj/sectio
n-pdf/896890?path=/bmj/350/8009/Obituaries.full.pdf) (PDF). The British Medical Journal.
350 (8009): 26. doi:10.1136/bmj.h2639 (https://doi.org/10.1136%2Fbmj.h2639).
S2CID 220087622 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:220087622). Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20210529093921/https://www.bmj.com/bmj/section-pdf/896890?path=/
bmj/350/8009/Obituaries.full.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 29 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May
2020.
5. Straus SE, Sackett DL, Mentorship in Academic Medicine. John Wiley & Sons, 2014. Print
ISBN 9781118446027 doi 10.1002/9781118446065
6. Belluz, Julia (May 15, 2015). "David Sackett, the father of evidence-based medicine, dies at
80" (https://www.vox.com/2015/5/15/8612233/david-sackett-dies). Vox. Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20171107165900/https://www.vox.com/2015/5/15/8612233/david-sackett-
dies) from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
7. Roberts, Sam (2015-05-19). "Dr. David Sackett, Who Proved Aspirin Helps Prevent Heart
Attacks, Dies at 80 (Published 2015)" (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/20/us/dr-david-sac
kett-who-proved-aspirin-helps-prevent-heart-attacks-dies-at-80.html). The New York Times.
ISSN 0362-4331 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Archived (https://web.archive.
org/web/20201020041619/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/20/us/dr-david-sackett-who-pr
oved-aspirin-helps-prevent-heart-attacks-dies-at-80.html) from the original on 2020-10-20.
Retrieved 2020-10-16.

External links
Profile of Dr. Sackett on Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (http://cdnmedhall.org/inductees/dr-
david-sackett) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150602015928/http://cdnmedhall.or
g/inductees/dr-david-sackett) 2015-06-02 at the Wayback Machine - cdnmedhall.org
Profiling the EBM man - Professor Sackett (https://web.archive.org/web/20070207110507/ht
tp://www.studentbmj.com/back_issues/0398/data/0398l1.htm) - Student BMJ
The father of evidence-based medicine (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fit
ness/health/david-sackett-the-father-of-evidence-based-medicine/article24607930/) André
Picard, The Globe and Mail (May 26, 2015)
Evidence-Based Medicine: An Oral History http://ebm.jamanetwork.com/index.html

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