Evidence based medicine

Evidence based medicine is the explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The physician uses the clinical experience acquired during training and practice together with evidence based on quantitative clinical research to arrive at decisions pertaining to clinical problems of an individual patient. Randomized controlled clinical trials are currently considered the gold standard of evidence to be applied to clinical problems and remain the best source of evidence. Evidence based medicine is important in practicing medicine in the 21st century. Our therapeutic decisions should not only be based on authority or clinical experience, but should integrate our judgement with relevant evidence. (C) 2000 by Le Jacq Communications, Inc.