The January/February 2005 issue of Health Affairs is devoted to evidence-based medicine. It presents a series of articles that provide an in-depth discussion of evidence-based medicine and the use of evidence in clinical practice. Support for publication of this issue of the journal was provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The volume is introduced by David Eddy, M.D., Ph.D., a physician and independent health care consultant based in Aspen, CO, who is one of the leading architects in the field of evidence-based medicine. Dr. Eddy presents a historical view of the subject and sets the stage for an eclectic collection of papers that provide context for the discussion of evidence-based medicine, focus on its evolution, present case studies exemplifying its use, discuss ways to evaluate evidence, and offer ideas on how to implement evidence-based medicine into everyday clinical practice.
An article by AHRQ director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., and Kelly Cronin, M.P.H., a senior advisor in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS, discusses the challenge now before us to further develop and translate the worldwide evidence base for local application.
We have a limited number of copies of the January/February 2005 issue of Health Affairs (AHRQ Publication No. OM05-0001). Single free copies are available from AHRQ's Publication Clearinghouse.