The National Prescribing Centre recently published MeReC Briefing 30 titled Using Evidence to Guide Practice.
This document is a must read for all clinicians, especially those who read clinical papers or who interact at any level with representatives of the pharmaceutical industry. It provides readers with pointers on sourcing, understanding and appraising the vast amounts of medical information that is published every day.
The pointers cover the following areas:
- Where to source information
- How to decide if the information is worth reading
- How valid is the design of the trial to my patients
- What is the magnitude of the risks and benefits
- Should the conclusion change practice
- How should this new information be communicated to patients
Action: All clinicians would benefit from reading this publication. The pointers and methods detailed in the document will allow clinicians to filter the information they receive so that any detailed reading will be more relevant and more likely to impact on current practice.