evidence-based practice (EBP)

It is now widely recognized throughout the globe that evidence-based practice (EBP) is key to delivering
the highest quality of healthcare and ensuring the best patient outcomes at the lowest costs. Findings
from numerous studies have indicated that an evidence-based approach to practice versus the implementation
of clinical care that is steeped in tradition or based upon outdated policies results in a multitude
of improved health, safety, and cost outcomes, including a decrease in patient morbidity and mortality
(McGinty & Anderson, 2008; Williams, 2004). The goal of improving healthcare through enhancing the
experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing per capita costs of healthcare has
become known as the Triple Aim, which is the major focus of current efforts by healthcare systems across
the United States (U.S.) (Berwick, Nolan, & Whittington, 2008). When clinicians know how to use the
EBP process to implement the best care and when patients are confident that their healthcare providers
are using evidence-based care, optimal outcomes are achieved for all.
Although there is an explosion of scientific evidence available to guide clinical practice, the implementation
of evidence-based care by health professionals is typically not the norm in many healthcare
systems across the U.S. and globe. However, when healthcare providers are asked whether they would
personally like to receive evidence-based care if they found themselves in a patient role, the answer is
resoundingly “yes!” For example:
? If your child was in a motor vehicle accident and sustained a severe head injury, would you want his
neurologist to know and use the most effective, empirically supported treatment established from
randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to decrease his intracranial pressure and prevent death?
? If your mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, would you want her nurse practitioner to
give you information about how other family caregivers of patients with this disease have coped
with the illness, based on evidence from well-designed qualitative and/or descriptive studies?
? If you were diagnosed with colon cancer today and were faced with the decision about what
combination of chemotherapy agents to choose, would you want your oncologist to share with you
the best and latest evidence regarding the risks and benefits of each therapeutic agent as generated
from prior clinical trials with other similar cancer patients?