Evidence-Based Medicine

Evidence-based medicine (EBM)—which might better be called evidence-based health care (EBHC) because it applies to all parts of the health care system and not just the practice of medicine by physicians—encompasses a set of tools for the enhancement of the practice of medicine. EBM uses those tools, many of which are drawn from epidemiology and biostatistics, to create a bridge between information gained from the study of populations and communities, on the one hand, and medical care provided to a particular individual, on the other. EBM requires that physicians and other medical professionals be able to critically appraise the medical literature and selectively apply information based on these critical appraisal principles to the individual patient.