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Evidence-Based Medicine: Evidence-Based Information Resources

EBM Pyramid

Number Needed to Treat

Non-profit site featuring structured abstracts on therapeutics and diagnostics including pre-calculated NNT, Absolute Risks and/or Liklihood Ratios.

NNT overview and tools to analyze - Site put together by Health News Reviews with tools, explanations and further resources for understanding and applying NNT to your clinical questions.

Health News Reviews

A website/blog posting independent reviews of health stories reported in the media.

This podcast was heard on the PBS radio program "On The Media" on May 24, 2014 and features the founder of Health News Reviews Gary Schwitzer talking about "The Worried Well Whipped Into a Frenzy" or how health news is reported - or actually not repported very well - in mass media.

Essential Resources for UMMS/UMMHC Users

Use this list as you would a ladder, working your way from the top down. Look for best evidence first in Cochrane Database and if you can't find good evidence there, continue down the list, understanding that the farther down you travel, the weaker the evidence you will find.  This list mirrors the EBM Pyramid on the left of this page.

  • The Cochrane Library - Full access to the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Central Register of Controlled Trials, DARE and other high-level, quality Evidence-Based resources.
  • DynaMed – Evidence-based clinical review summaries.
  • ACP Journal Club – Abstracts of articles containing strong evidence from within the primary literature.
  • UpToDate – Narratives synopsis, with emphasis on best-evidence, with a special focus on internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology. (Click here for off-campus access)
  • U.S. Preventive Services Task Force – Database of evidence-based recommendations in areas of prevention and screening.
  • PubMed Clinical Queries – PubMed/MEDLINE search feature that filters results in order to display only articles backed by good evidence. NOTE: At the PubMed home page, choose the Clinical Queries option from the choices under "PubMed Tools."
  • ECRI Guidelines Trust - publicly available web-based repository of evidence based clinical practice guidelines, with summaries and ratings. (Most content was previously from the National Guideline Clearinghouse created by the federal government Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and professional medical societies.)
  • TRIP Database – An EBM search engine that searches across multiple Evidence-Based information sites. While not all findings are full-text, TRIP includes many unique resources such as "Bandolier" and guidelines not found through National Guideline Clearinghouse.
  • Natural Medicines (formerly Natural Standard) -  Graded evidence on complementary therapies.
  • 5 Minute Clinical Consult - 900+ clinial topics for quick, concise diagnosis and therapy answers.  Includes diagnostic flow charts.  Edited by Dr. Frank Domino and other members of the UMMS Department of Family Medicine & Community Health.
  • Medscape Reference – Background narratives, often with emphasis on best-evidence outcomes, covering topics across the medical and surgical spectrum.

JAMA Rational Clinical Exam (Selected Content)

Resources and Evidence on Women's Health