The Evidence Manifesto - it’s time to fix the E in EBM

"Too many research studies are poorly designed or executed. Too much of the resulting research evidence is withheld or disseminated piecemeal. As the volume of clinical research activity has grown the quality of evidence has often worsened, which has compromised the ability of all health professionals to provide affordable, effective, high value care for patients.” Evidence is in crisis, and Carl Heneghan, director for the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, and Fiona Godlee, editor in chief of The BMJ set out the 9 points of the Evidence manifesto, which tries to set a road map for strengthening the evidence base. 1) Expand the role of patients, health professionals and policy makers in research 2) Increase the systematic use of existing evidence 3) Make research evidence relevant, replicable and accessible to end users. 4) Reduce questionable research practices, bias, and conflicts of interests 5) Ensure drug and device regulation is robust, transparent and independent 6) Produce better usable clinical guidelines. 7) Support innovation, quality improvement, and safety through the better use of real world data. 8) Educate professionals, policy makers and the public in evidence-based healthcare to make informed choices. 9) Encourage the next generation of leaders in evidence-based medicine.

http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j2973