Evidence-based practice saves lives and shortens hospital stays

A new paper by researchers from City University London and clinicians in Spain suggests that evidence-based practice (EBP) improves patient outcomes and saves lives.

The study, which is published in the journal of Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, also showed that physicians who deliberately reorganised their service to provide evidence-based care delivered more efficient care as their patients had shorter lengths of stay in hospital than other patients yet no higher re-admission rates. Evidence-based doctors attended twice as many patients per doctor as standard care doctors.

Although evidence‑based practice (EBP) is increasingly promoted, many health services and health practitioners continue to provide care in the standard way. This may be because they many do not believe that deliberate EBP produces better outcomes than standard care.