Fundamentals of Evidence-Based Medicine

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) appeared in the USA, Canada, and countries of Western Europe during the mid of 20 century. Nowadays, EBM is a compulsory part of clinical practice and healthcare in many developed countries. It provides conscious approach to the patient treatment by integrating knowledge and experience of different disciplines. However, post-Soviet states and many third World countries have stayed beyond EBM approaches for a long while. At the same time, EBM has been introduced as a compulsory subject in medical schools of many above listed regions. Some works on EBM were translated in languages of these countries. However, translations remain at a certain degree unclear for many clinicians and healthcare makers due to differences that exist in the field of quality of medical assistance, management of healthcare system, scientific methodology applied in different countries. The purpose of the present textbook is to make EBM approaches closer and clear for students, clinicians and healthcare makers of those countries where EBM is weakly integrated with practice.