Many primary care doctors are shifting toward evidence-based practice, but they may have trouble finding the evidence they need to guide clinical decisions, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Georgia analyzed 721 topics from online references for generalists and found only 18% of the recommendations were based on high-quality, patient-oriented evidence. Slightly more than half (51%) were based on patient-oriented evidence but from less quality research.
Patient-oriented outcomes, like quality of life, mortality rates and improved symptoms, translate directly into how well people live, so guidelines backed by research into those metrics are more useful than those based on laboratory markers, according to the study.
