Evidence-based medicine

Evidence based medicine is the practice of solving the clinical problems in one's practice by judicious and systematic use of the medical literature. This includes framing questions rightly and searching the right kind of literature. Thereafter, the available evidence needs to be evaluated for the validity, strength and effect size. Finally, the results are examined for applicability to the current problem which requires a detailed knowledge of the clinical setting, patient profile and the issues related to cost and harm. The present communication deals with these issues in a step-wise manner in order to stimulate readers to practise this important art.