Best Resources for Evidence Based Medicine

The purpose of this guide is to familiarize its visitors with the principles, practice, and process of evidence-based medicine. The information and the links provided here are intended for medical students, residents, faculty, practicing health professionals, and anyone who has an interest in evidence-based medicine.

Evidence based medicine is the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research.

from Sackett, DL, et al. "Evidence based medicine: What it is and what it isn't." (BMJ 1996; 312: 71-2)

Practicing evidence based medicine involves formulating a relevant and answerable clinical question, then seeking out published evidence to provide an answer.

1. Formulate a clear, focused clinical question based on a patient's specific problem
2. Consider four components of a well built clinical question using the PICO model.
• P patients or population
• I intervention
• C comparison group(s)
• O outcomes of interest
3. Search the literature for the best external evidence
4. Critically appraise the evidence for its validity and usefulness
5. Implement the useful evidence in clinical practice
6. Evaluate the results

For more information regarding evidence-based medicine, see User Guides to Evidence-Based Practice by the Centre for Health Evidence.