What Are the Principles of Research and Evidence-Based Medicine?
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) follows the concept of integrating the best of research evidence along with clinical expertise. Practicing EMB requires dedicating whole life to learning in what ways patient care can be provided.
As a result, doctors need to stay informed and up-to-date about healthcare issues and clinical improvements. In EBM, research is a constant part of clinical practice and learning.
In EBM, it is important to make a change in approach with the arrival of fresh evidence. Incorporating new information to take better care of patients is the chief principle behind this practice. The opinions of the patient and families of patients are given high regard in EBM.
EBM solely makes decisions based on the recently available evidence. A physician uses their knowledge, skills, and experience along with a patient?s values and preferences and takes into consideration the best available evidence in order to make health-related decisions for the patient.
The terms research and evidence-based medicine are now common in medical schools and during the med school clinical rotations. Keep reading to know more on EBM.
In what ways does Evidence-based medicine add value to the health system?
- EBM helps to stay clinicians up to date with their knowledge and procedures
- EBM uses real-time data to improve the transparency and accountability in medicine
- Uses real-time data to make decisions for health
- Improves the quality of healthcare
- Improves health outcomes
Why practice Evidence-based medicine?
The importance of practicing EBM is to improve the standards of healthcare provided to patients in medicine. EBM requires continuous questioning and improvement of the practices that work on patients.
This approach in medicine promotes critical thinking as it demands that the clinical is practiced effectively. EBM asks physicians to stay open-minded and explore new methods that are backed scientifically as effective. Staying updated with the latest best techniques, clinicians will be able to provide successful healthcare.
One of the first steps in EBM is asking clinical questions for the identification of a problem. Clinicians need to ask themselves why they are practicing a certain way, is there an alternative way of performing it, and if they were taught to do it. With new discoveries happening in the medical sciences every day, what was considered best practice a year ago may not be the same anymore.
The second step to healthcare would be acquiring the best evidence. Acquiring medical knowledge or evidence will encourage physicians to use evidence in making decisions related to the treatment. The more physicians use pieces of evidence on patient care the better outcomes will be seen in patients.
If the evidence is promising enough to improve decision-making for doctors and better outcomes in patients, then the evidence can be applied to clinical practice. Doctors then monitor their applied new practices to see how they are performing.
The components of evidence-based medicine are more inclusive as it considers several means. The components include taking care of patient values and preferences, the best available evidence, and a doctor?s clinical expertise and judgment to make more efficient health-related choices.
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