A physician who does not use books and journals, who does not need a library, who does not read one or two of the best weeklies and monthlies, soon sinks to the level of the cross-counter prescriber, and not alone in practice, but in those mercenary feelings and habits that characterize a trade.
References
Osler W. The functions of a state faculty. Presidential address to Maryland State Medical Society. April 27, 1897.
Mandel JS, Bond JH, Church TR, et al. Reclucing mortality from colorectal cancer by screening for fecal occult blood. N Engl J Med. 1993;328:1365–71.
Goodman SN, Berlin J, Fletcher SW, Fletcher RH. Manuscript quality before and after peer review and editing atAnnals of Internal Medicine. Ann Intern Med. 1994;121:11–21.
Covell DG, Uman GC, Manning PR. Information needs in office practice: are they being met? Ann Intern Med. 1985;103:596–9.
Fletcher RH, Fletcher SW, Wagner EH. Clinical Epidemiology: The Essentials. 3rd ed. Baltimore, Md: Williams and Wilkins; 1996.
Rennie D, Bero LA. Throw it away, Sam. The controlled circulation journals. CBE Views. 1990;1:31–5.
Wilkes MS, Doblin BH, Shapiro MF. Pharmaceutical advertisements in leading medical journals: experts' assessments. Ann Intern Med. 1992;116:912–9.
Ziegler MG, Lew P, Singer BC. The accuracy of drug information from pharmaceutical representatives. JAMA. 1995;273:1296–8.
Haynes RB, Mulrow CD, Huth EJ, Altman DG, Gardner MJ. More informative abstracts revisited. Ann Intern Med. 1990;113:69–76.
Haynes RB. Where is the meat in clinical journals? ACP J Club. 1993;119 (suppl 3):A22–3.
Antman EM, Lau J, Kupelnick B, Mosteller F, Chalmers TC. A comparison of results of meta-analyses of randomized control trials and recommendations of clinical experts. Treatments for myocardial infarction. JAMA. 1992;268:240–8.
Cook DJ, Sackett DL, Spitzer WO. Methodologic guidelines for systematic reviews of randomized control trials in health care from the Potsdam International Consultation on Meta-analysis. J Clin Epidemiol. 1995;48:167–71.
Detsky AS, Naylor CD, O'Rourke K, McGeer AL, L'Abbe KA. Incorporating variations in the quality of individual randomized trials into meta-analysis. J Clin Epidemiol. 1992;45:255–65.
Lau J, Antman EM, Jimenez-Silva J, Kupelnick B, Mosteller F, Chalmers TC. Cumulative meta-analyses of therapeutic trials of myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med. 1992;327:248–54.
Hayward RSA, Wilson MC, Tunis SR, Bass EB, Rubin HR, Haynes RE. More informative abstracts of articles describing clinical practice guidelines. Ann Intern Med. 1993;118:731–7.
The Lancet. Guide to the Internet. 1996; suppl.
Glowniak JV. Medical resources on the Internet. Ann Intern Med. 1995;123:123–31.
Godlee F. The Cochrane Collaboration deserves the support of doctors and governments. BMJ. 1994;309:969–70. Editorial.
Self-help. How to answer your own medical questions. Harvard Health Letter Special Supplement. July 1996.
McKibbon KA, Walker-Dilks CJ. Beyond ACP Journal Club: how to harness MEDLINE for therapy problems. ACP J Club. July–Aug 1994:A-10 (Ann Intern Med 121, suppl 1). Editorial.
McKibbon KA, Walker-Dilks CJ. Beyond ACP Journal Club: how to harness MEDLINE for diagnostic problems. ACP J Club. Sept–Oct 1994:A-10 (Ann Intern Med 121, suppl 2). Editorial.
Aubourg P, Adamsbaum C, Lavillard-Rousseau MC, et al. A two-year trial of oleic and erucic acids (“Lorenzo's oil”) as treatment for adrenomyeloneuropathy. N Engl J Med. 1993;329:745–52.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fletcher, R.H., Fletcher, S.W. Evidence-based approach to the medical literature. J Gen Intern Med 12 (Suppl 2), S5–S12 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.12.s2.1.x
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.12.s2.1.x