Evidence Based Medicine

What is evidence-based medicine?

"The conscientious, explicit and judicious application of current best evidence to the care of individual patients." [Sackett DL, Rosenberg WMC, Gray MJA, et al. Evidence-based medicine: what it is and what it isn't.  BMJ. 312:71-72 (1996)]

Evidence-based medicine is used to

1. Solve clinical problems. 
2. Integrate evidence from published research into patient care. 
3. Develop focused clinical questions concerning the patient’s problem. 
4. Search secondary databases and the primary literature for relevant articles. 
5. Judge the relevance to the individual patient. 
6. Apply the results in clinical practice to each patient encountered.
7. Process of life-long, problem-based learning. 

The necessary skills for evidence-based practice

Guyatt GH, et al.  Users' Guides to the Medical Literature: XXV. Evidence-based medicine: principles for applying the Users' Guides to patient care. Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group.  JAMA 284(10):1290-1296 (Sept 13, 2000)

1. Precisely define a patient problem. 
2. What information is required to resolve the problem?
3. Conduct an efficient search of the literature. 
4. Select the best relevant studies. 
5. Apply rules of evidence to determine their validity. 
6. Extract the clinical message and apply to the patient problem. 
7. Understand the patient’s values and their affect on management options. 
8. Appropriately involve the patient in the decision making process. 

See also Evidence-Based Medicine Program.

Sources & Further Reading

Sackett DL, Rosenberg WMC, Gray MJA, et al. Evidence-based medicine: what it is and what it isn't. 
BMJ. 312:71-72 (1996)

Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) Webliography (UMDNJ Libraries)

Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine (Duke University Medical Center Library and UNC Health Sciences Library)

SUNY Downstate Medical Center Evidence Based Medicine Tutorial

User's Guides to the Medical Literature (Robert M. Hamm, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center)

Users' Guides to the Medical Literature (Bibliography of Guides from JAMA’s Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group)

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