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Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine

Evidence-Based Medicine

 

 

Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) is the practice of making health care decisions by employing a combination of the best available evidence, the patient's unique values and expectations, and your own clinical expertise.

Below, you'll see the step-by-step process to practicing EBM effectively. To learn more about each step and the other tenets of EBM practice, please visit the Lamar Soutter Library's Evidence-Based Medicine Resource Guide or Evidence-Based Nursing Resource Guide. 

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Images from: The Medical College of Wisconsin

Evidence Based Medicince Resources

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.