Principles of EBDM

Evidence-based decision-making is about solving clinical problems and involves two fundamental principles:⁵

1. Evidence alone is never sufficient to make a clinical decision. As EBP has evolved, so has the realization that the evidence from clinical research is only one key component of the decision making process and does not tell a practitioner what to do.

2. A hierarchy of evidence exists to guide clinical decision-making. EBDM is a structured process which incorporates a formal set of rules for interpreting the results of clinical research and places a lower value on authority or custom. In contrast to EBDM, traditional decision-making, relies more on intuition, unsystematic clinical experience and pathophysiologic rationale.