Research Guides: Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) Resources: Resources that review, grade, and summarize the available evidence

Resources that review, grade, and summarize the available evidence

Advantages -- grades the evidence for you and condenses a great deal of information making quick review of a topic possible.

Disadvantages -- not all resources are updated on a continual basis and bias is possible and may be difficult to detect.

Resources:

Cochrane Library
Location:
Quick Links (UNMC only)

Update Frequency:
Varies. Check “date posted” in bibliographic information.

Characteristics:
1. Covers therapeutic efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a wide-range of pharmaceutical, rehabilitative, educational, behavioral interventions.
2. Covers diagnostic test accuracy and usefulness as well.
3. Provides systematic reviews that include meta-analyses of good quality data and comments on quality of all the available data.
Drug Effectiveness Review Project (DERP)
Location:
A freely available resource.

Update Frequency:
Varies. Check “current report date.”

Characteristics:
1. Covers therapeutic efficacy and cost-effectiveness of an ever increasing number of pharmacologic therapies.
2. Available studies are evaluated. Meta-analysis is performed on data from studies meeting inclusion quality standards.
BestBETs (Best Evidence Topics)
Location:
   A freely available resource.

Update Frequency:
   -

Characteristics:
   -
Effective Health Care Program
Location:
             A freely available resource.

Update Frequency:
             -

Characteristics:
             A limited, but growing collection of reports on comparative effectiveness research.
NICE Guidance (United Kingdom)
Location:
A freely available resource.

Update Frequency:
Varies. Check "Date Issued" and "Review Date."

Characteristics:
1. Guidance documents cover the available evidence on benefit and cost for a wide range of therapeutic interventions, health promotion activities, and diagnostic techniques.
2. The NICE guidance documents are intended for use by the UK's National Health Service. The results of the cost-benefit analyses contained in the NICE documents can not be applied directly to U.S. healthcare.