The field of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) is rapidly evolving and becoming more and more important as issues of cost, quality, and medical errors come to the forefront of the practice of medicine. This module is a very high-level introduction to EBM and the EBM process. It is not intended as comprehensive training in this area.
While this module outlines the general EBM process, it does not explain the methodology of how to critically appraise literature, which is well beyond the scope of this online training program. Also, while some information is presented on a few of the better medical citation database search engines, excellent in-depth (and free) training for how to use these search engines is available at the Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center (HSLIC), 505-272-2311.
Lastly, the primary goal of this module is to provide the average physician an appreciation for the EBM field and to provide a very basic framework to begin learning about this topic. We hope this module will pique the readers’ interest for further study through their entire medical career.