Editorial

Evidence-Based Medicine for Clinicians

Authors: Ishak A. Mansi, MD, FACP, Daniel E. Banks, MD, MS

Abstract

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) for clinicians: do we need it? Would it not be enough to connect clinicians to an authoritative database source that would supply them with brief summaries of final recommendations? Would the executive summaries of clinical and academic society guidelines be a sufficient source? We would argue that all of these sources are helpful but insufficient. There is no alternative to informed clinicians and trainees who can understand the basics and background of societies’ guidelines and database summaries. Historically, there are many occasions when guidelines, consensuses, and expert opinions moved in opposite directions from where they had been a few years earlier. Understanding the basics of EBM is an essential start for incorporating the evidence found in the medical literature into clinical practice.

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