The future of medicine is nerdy: does evidence synthesis save more lives than a shiny new drug?

"To reiterate that: the process of gathering the best available evidence, carefully synthesising it together, and optimally implementing it in practice, saves more lives than any piece of shiny new technology. I genuinely believe that evidence synthesis (and - often neglected - the dissemination of that evidence) is the true locus of innovation in medicine, because it lets us use what we have optimally, in an era when new blockbuster drugs are drying up...."