|
|
Evidence Based Medicine (EBM)
So what is Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) and how is it practiced?
In short, EBM works to apply the best available evidence to patient care using four key steps:
(1) Framing the medical question properly;
(2) Finding high quality medical information on the internet;
(3) Evaluating that information to determine its validity; and
(4) Applying that evidence to patient care.
In the tabs above, we’ll take you through each step, starting with how to ask the right medical question. (As you will see, not doing this correctly wastes time by finding the right answer to the wrong question.)
Then we’ll provide you with an efficient and rigorous search strategy to find the evidence. We include links to some of the most reliable and current medical information available.
Next we’ll show you how to evaluate the websites you search, as well as the studies and syntheses they reference, to make sure that information is reliable.
And finally, we’ll show you how to apply this information to patient care.
We recognize time constraints preclude healthcare providers from searching for the most up-to-date answers for every patient or provide patients as much in depth information as you and they might like. At the same time, medical information is freely available on the internet and with over 93 million patients in America alone going online to search for medical information that varies greatly in quality, they have a great need to develop a better understanding of where to look for the best information.
By engaging our patients in the process of EBM we can provide our patients the guidance they need. Consequently, we’ve created a free gateway for your patients on the homepage that basically mirrors the health professional EBM curriculum to teach them the same four steps in plain English, including links to high quality internet resources.
We hope that in sharing this resource with your patients – an “evidence-based educational prescription,” if you will – they will appreciate a sense of empowerment that enriches your partnership in decisions around their healthcare.
|
