Our friendly TSA

As a doctor I am expected to practice evidence based medicine. That means that everything I do must be based on evidence. Medical doctors will often complain that they loose patients if they don’t prescribe something even if evidence says not to. The patients will think that the doctor isn’t doing his job if they don’t get some medicine. This has led to super bugs that are antibiotic resistant and other such problems. That is why this new standard of evidence based practice is arising.

Are we as a country practicing evidence based security. What evidence do we have that these screenings even work. Does it make us safer or does it just make us feel better like that pill the doctor gives even though he knows you don;t need anything.

Lets do some double blind studies to see if the risk to benefit ratio is worth it. The risk is loss of liberty the benefit is security. If we lose all our liberty for complete security is it worth it? If we lose most of our liberty for relatively little security it definitely is not worth it.

Millions upon millions of people fly every year in this country and we have not heard of screening like this catching even one terrorist before they get on the plane. You better believe they would publicize it if they did catch one. One question any good doctor should always ask is what would happen if we did nothing. What is the true risk of death by terrorism on a plane if we had no security? 1 in a million? 1 in 10 million? That’s better than many legal drugs.