By Van Charles Lansingh

In the advent of the Zika scare, it is clear that the need for evidence and sensationalism are difficult to balance, and due to the pressure from the media, many governments and various entities, responded in haste and with probably very little time to analyze their recommendations. A similar case was seen in the wake of the Ebola outbreak. The global community has seen and experienced the consequences: fear and confusion of managing and controlling a disease that has limited evidence and knowledge base, and lack of historical antecedents to support the actions taken.

However, we often do have the evidence more or less readily available to respond to the health information needs and to the requests from policy makers. Unfortunately, more often than not, this information is too complex and difficult to determine what is correct and what is simply popular belief. The plethora of publications makes it difficult to sift through and summarize, so that there is an adequate process of translation from evidence generated by researchers, to policy and practice. more…

By Caroline Blaine

BMJ Clinical Evidence is now 16 years old. Those in the UK and North America may remember the handbook – initially pocket size it grew over the years as new topics and new evidence were constantly added. Clinical Evidence is now very much an online resource offering a unique systematic overview of the current evidence base for common clinical conditions. This is combined with our tools to practise, learn and teach evidence-based medicine making it a go to place for clinicians, researchers and students. more…

by Huw Llewelyn

At Evidence Live, Iona Heath (video) reminded us that EBM should not interfere with wisdom and common sense. Trish Greenhalgh (video) gave a hilarious example of ‘rubbish EBM’ when a ‘falls protocols for elders’ was invoked after she went over her bicycle handlebars at speed! The answer is to arrive at initial impressions and decisions based on one’s current knowledge and then AFTERWARDS to check them against transparent reasoning and evidence. more…

by Paul Glasziou

Gordon Guyatt coined the term ‘Evidence-based Medicine’ (EBM) over 20 years ago, and it has had a remarkable global influence. But EBM is not a static set of concepts, set in stone tablets in the 1990’s; it is a young and evolving discipline. The fundamental concept of EBM – using the best available research evidence to aid clinical care – may have changed little, but what is best and how to apply the concepts in practice continue to develop. more…