Knowledge management

Abstract

Knowledge management is the process of identifying, appraising, and synthesizing evidence to inform healthcare organization and delivery. This chapter summarizes the role and use of evidence in healthcare. Evidence identification, appraisal, and synthesis are described, and the use of evidence to inform the development of healthcare guidelines is discussed. The challenges of guideline implementation are explored and potential solutions are outlined. The future direction of knowledge management is complex and may involve individualized risk scoring and new approaches to analysing large datasets. Knowledge management should be used to guide more coherent care across healthcare systems; evidence and knowledge management must also promote appropriateness in healthcare.