What is Evidence Based Medicine

Traditional sources like textbooks are usually out-of-date and too disorganized. Experts can be consulted. Secondary sources that can be used are "Archimedes", "Clinical evidence" and "BestBets". They give reliable summaries of evidence. You can also consult online electronic bibliographic databa...

Consider the following:

• Can evidence be applied to the specific patient?
• What is patient's personal values and circumstances?
• What are the efficiency and risks of the treatment?
• What is the cost and availability of the treatment?

It improves quality care through determining:

• Practices that work and promoting them
• Practices that are ineffective and eliminating them

It helps health care professionals to find, appraise and use new research in their clinical practice.

3 main areas to appraise:

• Validity
• Importance
• Applicability to patient

The Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) can be used to appraise research articles.

1. Formulate answerable questions
2. Find the evidence needed
3. Critically appraise evidence
4. Apply the research 
5. Evaluate the results

• Evaluate your approach frequently
• Do you need to improve any of the first 4 steps?
• Is your approach a rational and acceptable management strategy?
• Is EBM improving patient care?

Use the PICO format to structure questions:

• P -> Identify the patient or problem
• I -> What intervention do you want to try
• C -> What other alternative intervention are you comparing yours to?
• O ...