Evidence Based Practice

Evidence Based Practice

Introduction

Nowadays, the formation of effective healthcare policy and allocation of resources are extensively based on evidence-based practice and decision making. This paper defines what evidence based practice is, illustrates the significance of evidence-based practice in decision-making, as well as examines which research approach is relative more beneficial and applied to healthcare practice.

Discussion

Definition of Evidence-based Practice

Evidence-based practice can be defined as an approach to decision making where healthcare professional employs the best evidence accessible to make to a decision which healthcare service and treatment are best for the patient.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the judicious, explicit and conscientious use of recent best evidence in taking a decision about patient care. It refers to the integration of the best practice (external clinical evidence) from systematic evidence with individual clinical expertise. In other words, EBP wound care dressings is the integration of patient values and clinical expertise with the best research evidence. The focus of EBP in relation to wound care necessitates the highest level of evidence (Borbasi & Jackson, 2012).

The EBP goal refers to the integration of healthcare expert opinion, perspective of caregiver/patient/client and external scientific evidence to offer the best quality of healthcare that reflects on the choices, needs, values and interest of the person they serve. In the process of EBP, the key steps are outlining clinical questions, finding the evidence, evaluating the evidence, and then make a clinical decision.

The Importance of Evidence Based Decision Making

Evidence-based decision making is increasingly recognized by decision makers based on integrating outcomes from the best accessible research approach, along with seasoned professional expertise and judgment.

There is several importance of evidence-based decision making to healthcare such as it offers program performance monitoring criteria, the likelihood for cost effective solutions with the support of evidence, an improved probability of enhanced outcomes of health from decisions based on sound evidence, greater consistency in decision making, and offer learning via experience (Lindholm, et al., 2008).

Evidence-based decision-making might be most favorable as healthcare professionals rapidly find them incapable to deal with the flood of information in a huge amount, from very important information to the irrelevant. Hence, evidence-based decision making steadily appeared as a solution to combine the best research evidence with patient expectations and values and clinical expertise as practiced by the provider of healthcare. The ideas and concepts labeled and attributed together as evidence-based practice to healthcare has now become a part of everyday lives of clinical and professionals of healthcare increasingly hear regarding evidence based questions and solutions, care paths and guidelines (Nishimura, Blume, Ohgi & Sumpio, 2007).

Since, EBP ensures quality care, evidence-based practice is vital in all domains of nursing practice. EBP in decision making is very important to optimize results for patients, transparency in decision-making, ensure accountability, achieve cost-effective nurse care and improve clinical practice. The absolute integration of the best research, patient values and clinical expertise into clinical decision making improves the chances for clinical outcomes and enhance life ...