Does doctor know best? A new approach to "evidence" based health care

The report "Doctor knows best? The use of evidence in implementing self-directed support in health care"underlines the importance of recognising the expertise of people, focusing on outcomes and expanding traditional notions of innovation.

Drawing attention to the fact that personal health budgets open up the possibility of bringing innovation into the heart of the therapeutic relationship between the professional and the person, the report states: "The question isn't 'do personal health budgets work?' - but rather who decides what success should look like in the first place and what outcomes can services users and staff working together with greater scope for innovation and creativity achieve that might not have been possible with mass purchased or produced services?"