Essential Evidence

Book excerpt: This manual helps clinicians easily to find the best available evidence to facilitate sound medical decisions. It is the first published compilation of highly relevant InfoPOEMs that the editors believe has the potential to change a clinician's practice. The editors have selected over 300 of the most influential, compelling POEMs, and organized them by topic for easy reference. Each POEM contains: Clinical Question: Poses a question that the study seeks to answer. Bottom line: Summarizes the findings of the research and places these findings into the context with the known information on the topic. The bottom line also is designed to help readers understand how to apply the results. LOE: Each review is given a Level of Evidence indicator. This allows the reader to discern an overall sense of how well the new information is supported. Reference: Displays the citation of the article being reviewed. Study Design: Identifies the procedures of the study (i.e., Meta-Analysis, randomized controlled trial). Setting: Identifies the environment in which the study took place (i.e., outpatient, inpatient). Synopsis: Provides a brief overview of the study design and results, but is not an abstract. The editors have pulled out only the most important information – the materials that readers need to judge the validity of the research and to understand the results. The manual opens with two complementary, original chapters: 1) Introduction to Information Mastery which covers the skills physicians need to practice the best medicine. 2) An Introduction to Evidence Based Medicine that reviews the key concepts and principles behind this practice model.