Developing a culture of evidence-based practice in gynecology and obstetrics

Abstract

Evidence-based management/practice is the systematic, explicit, and judicious application of current best evidence in patient care decisions. The individual clinical expertise is integrated with the best available external clinical evidence. Within a hospital and specialty, there may be a wide variation in practice between doctors. It is essential to have uniform standards of care for all patients. Using EBM, we can possibly establish uniform standards of care so that all hospital/unit staff can adhere to evidence-based protocols/treatments. Despite the great strides the medical community has made in the past 10–15 years, a gap exists in developing a culture of evidence-based practice in India. The identifiable reasons are inconsistencies, lack of transparency and collaboration in large healthcare settings, lack of resources for training, and easy access to literature. Clinicians in senior positions may need the right understanding of the concept, resulting in downstream slow acceptance. Embedding the evidence-based practice concept as early as undergraduate medical education has yielded positive results. Focus on developing an organizational willingness through integrated programs and policies could help bring a change in the working systems.