Department of Health, Richmond House, 79 Whitehall, London SW1A 2NS, UK.
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2011 Dec 13;369(1956):4853-63. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2011.0123.
Recognizing and working with uncertainty in handling risk are part of both clinical practice and the policy-making process. The Department of Health recognizes the inherent challenges that uncertainty brings and employs a wide range of research mechanisms, drawing on a diverse set of disciplines, to provide an evidence base to inform both policy creation and implementation, and clinical practice. This paper describes a variety of situations and the Government response to them, each time highlighting the use of science to reduce unknowns and to support decision-making. It highlights the need for a strong research infrastructure to support the Department's requirements, and those of the NHS, both in real time to respond to emergencies and to establish a high standard of care. However, although science provides a powerful tool to reduce uncertainty, it will not always produce definitive answers and often provides the start point for a dialogue between decision makers and researchers.
认识和处理风险中的不确定性是临床实践和决策过程的一部分。卫生部认识到不确定性带来的固有挑战，并采用了广泛的研究机制，借鉴了多个学科，为政策制定和实施以及临床实践提供了证据基础。本文描述了各种情况和政府的应对措施，每次都强调了利用科学来减少未知因素并支持决策。它强调了需要一个强大的研究基础设施来支持卫生部的需求，以及国民保健制度的需求，既要实时应对紧急情况，又要建立高标准的护理水平。然而，尽管科学提供了一个强大的工具来减少不确定性，但它并不总是能给出明确的答案，而且往往为决策者和研究人员之间的对话提供了起点。
