Evidence-based healthcare
A crucial component of the healthcare redesign blueprint contained in the IOM (2001) Quality Chasm report is the recommendation to use evidence-based practice. EBP is the integration of research, experimented, approved scientific information with daily best practices. EBP is intended to reduce the risk of the unpredictable outcome in the treatment of patients. The basis of this technique is rigorous, systematic research and continued use of clinical experiences of the caregiver (Sackett et al., 2000).
Evidence-based healthcare best practices are currently available for common illnesses like diabetes, chronic heart failure and renal dysfunction. Evidence-based research implementation in clinical practice began in the mid-1900s. Since then, there have been significant medical, scientific discoveries to add to the vault of medical knowledge available for clinicians today. Learning continues in the use of EBP as the feedback in the system gives knowledge that can be adopted in clinical use (DiCenso A, Ciliska D, Cullum N, et al 2005).
Berwick, Nolan & Whittington (2008) identified the three aims met by Evidence-Based Healthcare. The first is improving the experience of patients undergoing treatment, including quality of care given and outcomes. The second aim states that EBP improves the health of populations;andthe final aim met is lowering the per capita cost of healthcare.
The most common challenge to the implementation of EBP identified is lack of time to look up new resources that support treatment. This barrilso related to inadequate staff leading to work overload experience in most clinical settings. An institutional challenge is the lack of enough resources to find evidence. It also includes a lack of a workspace to research reports and experiments and limited ways to access this information. Best patient care is individualized and dynamic, involving risks and probabilities. This is why change to Evidence-Based Healthcare is inevitable. Better education and increased knowledge about the benefits of EBP will cause major changes in attitude and significantly progress implementation (Shayan, Kiwanuka & Nakaye (2018).
The full implementation of EBP in every clinical setting may be some time off; however, with the continued transition from learning to gain knowledge towards learning to apply clinical knowledge full implementation is on the horizon.