What!, So clinical trials data showing the efficacy of thousands of drugs isn't proof enough that a medication does what it's supposed to. Ridiculous
There is evidence based on statistics, but I cant tell you how many times the drug company will engineer a test proving efficacy.....a large scale double blind placebo controlled study that gets peer reviewed.....and another study that is equally credible comes to significantly different conclusions.
Not only that, but health isnt all about statistics. The side effect profile, the interactions with other drugs, understanding that each patient is an individual.....its a art as much as it is a science, otherwise we could have computers replacing doctors.
Trust me, there isnt a magic formula, no standardized test that can narrow down your condition and prescribe based on a one size fits all.....it doesnt work that way, and if your doctor operates that way, find a new one.
So no, statistical analysis is not conclusive "proof", but its highly suggestive of certain effects.
Sometimes with herbs there are also evidence that suggests the efficacy of an herb....often weaker or based on smaller or less controlled studies, but there IS often real science supporting the use of herbs.
A peer reviewed double blind placebo controlled study is not definitive.....sometimes these studies can be doctored. Sometimes faulty logic was applied to criteria. Sometimes there are unknowns which can cause you to reevaluate the information had before putting it into a new context......1 test, no matter how peer reviewed or double blind or large scale, proves NOTHING. Not a god damned thing. However, its suggestive of many things, and you look at multiple studies and come to conclusions based on meta-studies.
Most of the studies that are used for herbs and supplements are funded by universities, like the University of Maryland or Bastyr University....These are often less impressive studies than the ones the drug companies pay for, and yet they also tend on average to be less biased, unless they are created by somebody selling something.
So no, a lot of medicine is not 100% conclusively proven, despite studies.
Some studies found that prozac was less effective than a sugar pill for depression, decades after its introduction to medicine....credible studies, larger than the ones that got the drugs approved.