Evidence-based Medicine - Background and Definition

Background and Definition

Evidence based medicine (EBM) has evolved from clinical epidemiology, a discipline promoted by the creation of the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology in 1988. Clinical epidemiology aims to bridge the gap between clinical practice and public health using population health sciences to inform clinical practice. Thus, the methodology that underpins EBM applies methods used in the field of epidemiology to the clinical context (i.e. clinical epidemiology). In essence, EBM incorporates this quantitative (as well as qualitative) methodology in the “art” of clinical practice, so as to make the framework for clinical decisions more objective by better reflecting the evidence from research.By introducing scientific methods – particularly the methods of the population sciences – in clinical decision making, EBM has driven a transformation of clinical practice in medicine.

In 1996 David Sackett wrote that "Evidence-based medicine is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients." This definition, put forward by one of the original proponents of evidence-based medicine, has since been adopted by major organizations, including the Cochrane Collaboration and the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine.