SR-AHEC residents: Evidence-Based Medicine

Evidence based medicine (EBM) is the conscientious, explicit, judicious and reasonable use of modern, best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. EBM integrates clinical experience and patient values with the best available research information. It is a movement which aims to increase the use of high quality clinical research in clinical decision making. EBM requires new skills of the clinician, including efficient literature-searching, and the application of formal rules of evidence in evaluating the clinical literature. The practice of evidence-based medicine is a process of lifelong, self-directed, problem-based learning in which caring for one’s own patients creates the need for clinically important information about diagnosis, prognosis, therapy and other clinical and health care issues. It is not “cookbook” with recipes, but its good application brings cost-effective and better health care. The key difference between evidence-based medicine and traditional medicine is not that EBM considers the evidence while the latter does not. Both take evidence into account; however, EBM demands better evidence than has traditionally been used. One of the greatest achievements of evidence-based medicine has been the development of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, methods by which researchers identify multiple studies on a topic, separate the best ones and then critically analyze them to come up with a summary of the best available evidence. The EBM-oriented clinicians of tomorrow have three tasks: a) to use evidence summaries in clinical practice; b) to help develop and update selected systematic reviews or evidence-based guidelines in their area of expertise; and c) to enrol patients in studies of treatment, diagnosis and prognosis on which medical practice is based.

What are evidence-based strategies and how can public health practitioners find evidence without conducting extensive literature reviews? We developed an inventory of clearinghouses and other resources that disseminate research on evidence of effectiveness. We examined differences in evidence classification among 6 evidence clearinghouses that rate the effectiveness of community-level strategies to address determinants of health. Most evidence clearinghouses clearly defined their scope, but only a few clearinghouses explicitly defined the types of strategies they assess (eg, programs, policies, practices). The term "evidence-based" was widely used, but definitions and standards were inconsistent across organizations and disciplines. Evidence clearinghouses varied in the way they used evidence rating classifications and criteria for assigning ratings. Attention to detail is important. The criteria for the top rating of some evidence clearinghouses, for example, require a more thorough literature review with more robust results than the criteria for the top rating of others. In addition, some clearinghouses report only on strategies considered to be evidence-based, whereas others also report on strategies that have no effect, mixed evidence, or no qualifying studies, demonstrating that a listing of a strategy by an evidence clearinghouse does not necessarily mean that it is effective. We conclude by providing guidance for users of evidence clearinghouses about how to interpret and effectively apply rating criteria across platforms: look closely at the details of how clearinghouses assign their ratings and be aware of similarities and differences when you are aligning potential strategies with your local priorities. We encourage communities to balance evidence with local needs, resources, and culture in strategy selection and funding decisions.