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.
Speaking about the research, Amanda Burls, Professor of Public Health in School of Health Sciences at City University London and co-author of the paper, said: “Our research on the outcomes of patients after the establishment of an evidence-based practice unit showed that, not only did EBP doctors attend twice as many patients as other doctors, but, more importantly, their patients were less likely to die and did not need to be in hospital as long as other similar patients. In these days, where efficiency savings for the NHS are being sought, managers should provide training in evidence-based health care and easy access to information systems required for its practice and work to promote organizational and cultural change to support evidence-based practice. Clinicians who want the best outcomes for their patients should seek training in evidence-based health care and work collaboratively with colleagues to ensure their decisions are informed by the best available evidence”
Sir Muir Gray, the NHS’s first Chief Knowledge Officer, and Director of Better Value Health Care commented on the study: “This study emphasises the importance of evidence-based decision making for both individuals and organisations. We need to move away from the idea that clinical practice and management are two completely distinct activites. Healthcare is a knowledge business and decisions of all types need to be based on knowledge from research - the type of knowledge we call evidence.”
Idoia Gurrutxaga, Medical Director of the hospital where the EBP unit was set up commented about the findings: “The results of this study confirm that investing in human resources and knowledge yields significant benefits for the people we serve. There are few technological or therapeutic investments which, at similar cost, could have generated such powerful effects on health in such a short time.“
by George Wigmore
