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Evidence-Based Medicine: What does it Mean and Where Are We Going?

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Evidence-Based Practice: Toward Optimizing Clinical Outcomes

Abstract

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is commonly defined as “the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.” However, EBM, which focuses on individual physicians and their decisions, is too limited and should be expanded to include a set of principles and methods intended to ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, medical decisions, guidelines, and other types of policies are based on and consistent with good evidence of efficacy and benefit. There are different methods in which evidence can be used to help in the decision-making process, but a unified approach should be introduced.

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Frustaci, S., Miolo, G.M., Buonadonna, A., Crivellari, D., Scalone, S. (2010). Evidence-Based Medicine: What does it Mean and Where Are We Going?. In: Chiappelli, F. (eds) Evidence-Based Practice: Toward Optimizing Clinical Outcomes. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-05025-1_14

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