From evidence-based guideline methodology to quality of care standards

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The culture of searching for evidence in medicine has revolved around three areas—the systemic–pathophysiological, the individual–clinical and the statistical–analytical approach.1 The origin of the first lies with Socrates (c. 400 BC) and Galen (c. AD 200), the second with the long evolution of the process we call ‘medical judgement’ and the last with the work of a number of pioneers such as James Lind, a Scottish naval surgeon (1716–1794), who validated his intuition about the best treatment for scurvy by undertaking a prospective randomized study on board a British naval ship.2 This and other work were the beginnings of systematic and analytical evaluation of evidence as a basis for clinical practice.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: