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Division of Academic Affairs > Office of Medical Education

Evidence-Based Medicine Tutorial

Definition of Evidence-Based Medicine

Evidence based medicine (EBM) was originally defined as 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.
(Sackett DL, Rosenberg WMC, Gray JAM, Haynes RB, Richardson WS. Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn't. BMJ 1996; 312: 71-2)

The revised and improved definition of evidence-based medicine is a systematic approach to clinical problem solving which allows the integration of the best available research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values.
(Sackett DL, Strauss SE, Richardson WS,et al. Evidence-based medicine: how to practice and teach EBM. London: Churchill-Livingstone,2000)

Evidence-Based Practice is defined as, "Making a conscientious effort to base clinical decisions on research that is most likely to be free from bias, and using interventions most likely to improve how long or well patients live." 
(Mark H. Ebell, MD, MS, Professor, University of Georgia, Editor-in-Chief, Essential Evidence Plus)

What EBM skills do all practicing clinicians really need?

While EBM is a large step forward, these skills are necessary but not sufficient for the practice of contemporary medicine. All clinicians should:

• Find the best evidence for every day practice (Information mastery)
• Assess relevance before rigor. Is the evidence patient oriented?
• Evaluate information about therapies, diagnostic tests, and clinicaldecision rules. Is it true?
• Understand basic statistics.
• Have at fingertips "just in time" information at the point of care using web based and/or handheld computer based information and tools for clinical decision making
• Evaluate expert-based information, including colleagues, CME, presentations, reviews and guidelines.
• Critically evaluate information from pharmaceutical representatives. No Free Lunch.

Slawson DC, Shaughnessy AF. Teaching evidence-based medicine: should we be teaching information management instead? Acad Med. 2005 Jul;80(7):685-9.

EBM as Lifelong Learning

The practice of evidence-based medicine is a process of lifelong, self-directed, problem-based learning in which caring for one's own patients creates the need for clinically important information about diagnosis, prognosis, therapy and other clinical and health care issues.

Instead of routinely reviewing the contents of dozens of journals for interesting articles, EBM suggests that you target your reading to issues related to specific patient problems. Developing clinical questions and then searching current databases may be a more productive way of keeping current with the literature.

Evidence-based medicine "converts the abstract exercise of reading and appraising the literature into the pragmatic process of using the literature to benefit individual patients while simultaneously expanding the clinician's knowledge base."
(Bordley, D.R. Fagan M, Theige D. Evidence-based medicine: a powerful educational tool for clerkship education. Am J Med. 1997 May;102(5):427-32.)

Five Step Model of Evidence-Based Medicine

1. Convert information needs into answerable questions
2. Track down with maximum efficiency the best evidence with which to answer them
3. Critically appraise that evidence for its validity and usefulness
4. Apply the results of this appraisal in your practice
5. Evaluate your performance

To convert your information needs into a focused question, PICO format, see:

Levels of Evidence

Major Evidence Based Medicine Databases (EBM Foraging Tools)

A high-quality foraging tool employs a transparent process that

1. systematically surveys or reviews the literature,
2. filters out disease-oriented research and presents only patient-oriented research outcomes,
3. demonstrates that a validity assessment has been performed using appropriate criteria,
4. assigns levels of evidence, based on appropriate validity criteria, to individual studies,
5. provides specific recommendations, when feasible, on how to apply the information, placing it into clinical context,
6. comprehensively reviews the literature for a specific specialty or discipline, and
7. coordinates with a high-quality hunting tool.
   (Slawson, et al)

EBM Hunting Tools

These resources combine many of the above resources into one tool that searches multiple resources, then organizes the results by category representing the type of question you have. Four of the following are available on the web and PDA for all CoM faculty and students. Step-by step-directions for using each of these products on the web and PDA is available in this PDF document: Using EBM Resources

See EBM Tools on the Medical Library Website.

Last resort to track down evidence. Articles will need to be appraised before using.

Advanced EBM Skills

Only a small percentage of clinicians in each specialty need to be able to do the following:

• Critical Appraisal and Interpretation of Research on:
  • Therapies
  • Diagnostic Tests
  • Prognosis
• Critical Evaluation and Interpretation of:
  • Systematic Reviews, Including Meta-analysis
  • Decision Analysis
  • Practice Guidelines
  • Pharmaceutical Advertising, Including Pharmaceutical Representatives
• Assigning Levels of Evidence to Research Findings to:
• Teaching Level 1 Skills
• Written Communication of Research Findings
  • Physicians
  • Patients

(Slawson, et al)

To help critically appraise an article or guideline, use the following guides:

Study design, statistics and levels of evidence

More information about evidence-based medicine