The Government of India has been celebrating National Statistics Day on 29th June annually on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis who is known as Father of Statistics.The theme of National Statistics Day 2021 is “Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)- 2 (End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition and Promote Sustainable Agriculture).”

Do doctors need to have knowledge of statistics?

Researchers Louise Swift, Susan Miles, Gill Price, Lee Shepstone and Sam Leinster of University of East Anglia, UK, conducted a research in the year 2009 to understand whether doctors need the knowledge of statistics. Their study also covered doctors' attitude and use of probability and statistics.

Relevance of statistics to doctors

473 clinicians were sent an email questionnaire as part of the study. 130 doctors responded to the email. Out of these 130 respondents, 90% mentioned that they found probability and statistics useful in day to day activities. They listed following areas where statistics helps them in their profession:

• it helps in accessing clinical guidelines and evidence summaries
• it helps interpreting the results of a screening test
• it helps in explaining levels of risk to patients
• it helps in reading research publications for general professional interest
• it helps in using research publications to explore non-standard treatment and management options
• it helps assessing medical marketing and advertising material 

Benefits of statics for doctors

The respondents of the study said that due to statistical knowledge, they are able to critically evaluate other medical practitioners' research in a better way. They also mentioned that they have become research active, have become better at teaching and assessing risks and explaining them. This research study shows a direct link between probability and statistics and increased efficiency of doctors. Statistics should thus be treated as a relevant field of study for better careers and efficiency levels of doctors and those in the medical profession.