Evidence-based medicine and practice: what's new for the physicians?

Abstract

This paper introduces the readers to the concepts of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) and Evidence-Based Health Care (EBHC). After taking the view that EBM and EBHC are essentially a new way of thinking about the theory and practice of medicine, the paper discusses their potential, limitation and ambiguities. Besides summarising the roles of EBM and EBHC in providing information relevant for patient care, medical education, health policy-making, information-seeking and eventually, guideline production, the paper closes discussing some of the potentials as well as dangers of this new scientific and cultural movement.