What Every Patient Should Know About Evidence-Based Practice And Why It Could Make A Big Difference In Your Treatment Outcome

Many healthcare consumers hear the term evidence-based practice (EBP). The words suggest that your treatment is a predetermined cookie-cutter plan that will be followed by whatever therapist you happen to choose. This is a common misconception – evidence-based practice demands more skill and expertise from your therapist, not less. Understanding the basics of EBP may help you ask better questions and help you choose the best therapy provider for you.

Evidence-based practice is a five-step process*:

Step-1: Your therapy provider needs to know what type of evidence to use and what questions to ask about your condition.

Step-2: Your therapy provider needs to have access to and know how to find the best research.

Step-3: Your therapy provider needs to evaluate the research and determine how important it may be for improving your treatment.

Step 4: Your therapy provider must decide how to adjust their treatment approach based on both the research and your specific condition.

Step 5: Your therapy provider must measure the results to determine the impact on outcomes for all patients.

Once you break down the basic requirements of evidence-based practice, you can see how demanding it is, and why choosing a provider with a Standards of Care that includes a program for managing EBP can make a difference in the quality of care you receive.

To learn more about how the AMS Clinic approach may work for you, we invite you to learn more about our free screening program.

*The 5-step process described here is a summary based on guidelines provided by Sackett et al., 2000