Evidence Based Medicine (EBM), using the best evidence in the literature for the best care for an individual patient, sounds very simple. Yet, most medical students and physicians do not have the mathematical background or training to critically evaluate published research. This users guide' to EBM helps you become a more discriminating reader of the medical literature. An introduction to scientific methods and study design then leads on to a better understanding of measurements and sources of bias. There is a brief introduction to statistics and hypothesis testing (Type I and II errors) and measures of risk and efficacy. The second half of the book teaches medical decision-making including discussions of the clinical examination and sources of bias in that examination, likelihood ratios, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values and advanced topics in medical decision making. This is an ideal introductory text for medical students and all health-care professionals.

An accessible and ideal introduction to EBM for non-mathematically inclined students and all consumers of medical research Accompanied by an interactive and fun-to-use CD-ROM consisting of practice problems and journal articles that reinforce the concepts taught in the book Also includes advanced topics in medical decision-making to help practitioners who may understand basic concepts of critical appraisal but would like to have more information about tying them together in the medical decision-making process