STEP 1

Formulate Answerable Clinical Questions (CQs)

The key is to translate the clinical problem into an answerable clinical question (CQ) – e.g. “Is treatment A effective in irradicating disease B?”. CQs should be clear, focus directly on the presenting complaint, and be answerable in terms of clinical evidence available.

Form clinical questions using the PICO method.

“P” - the Patient themself and the Problem i.e. their medical history and presenting complaint.

“I” - Intervention i.e. the treatment / test used.

“C” - Comparison of various interventions.

“O” - Outcome i.e. the predicted result.