EBM is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of the individual patient. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research.

EBM is the integration of clinical expertise, patient values, and the best evidence into the decision making process for patient care. Clinical expertise refers to the clinician's cumulated experience, education and clinical skills. The patient brings to the encounter his or her own personal and unique concerns, expectations, and values. The best evidence is usually found in clinically relevant research that has been conducted using sound methodology.

The evidence, by itself, does not make a decision for you, but it can help support the patient care process. The full integration of these three components into clinical decisions enhances the opportunity for optimal clinical outcomes and quality of life. The practice of EBM is usually triggered by patient encounters which generate questions about the effects of therapy, the utility of diagnostic tests, the prognosis of diseases, or the etiology of disorders.

Evidence-based medicine requires new skills of the clinician, including efficient literature-searching, and the application of formal rules of evidence in evaluating the clinical literature.
Steps in the EBM Process

The patient

1. Start with the patient -- a clinical problem or question arises out of the care of the patient

The question

2. Construct a well built clinical question derived from the case

The resource

3. Select the appropriate resource(s) and conduct a search

The evaluation

4. Appraise that evidence for its validity (closeness to the truth) and applicability (usefulness in clinical practice)

The patient

5. Return to the patient -- integrate that evidence with clinical expertise, patient preferences and apply it to practice

Self-evaluation

6. Evaluate your performance with this patient