Higher-leverage way to do this might be to lobby for reforms making it easier to gather “Phase 4” data on therapies already in use? Or reform the FDA in one of various other ways, for instance so they give provisional approval to therapies which have merely been shown to be safe but not necessarily effective? Or code up some kind of platform that makes it easier for small organizations to run large trials by doing stuff like mailing people supplements and fitbit-like devices without having to jump through a bunch of formidable bureaucratic hoops.
I think this is all correct! By the way, I was mostly thinking of RCTs in the social sciences—like randomized school vouchers or the Perry Preschool Experiment—but it’s equally true in the FDA/medical context.
Higher-leverage way to do this might be to lobby for reforms making it easier to gather “Phase 4” data on therapies already in use? Or reform the FDA in one of various other ways, for instance so they give provisional approval to therapies which have merely been shown to be safe but not necessarily effective? Or code up some kind of platform that makes it easier for small organizations to run large trials by doing stuff like mailing people supplements and fitbit-like devices without having to jump through a bunch of formidable bureaucratic hoops.
I think this is all correct! By the way, I was mostly thinking of RCTs in the social sciences—like randomized school vouchers or the Perry Preschool Experiment—but it’s equally true in the FDA/medical context.