The difference between evidence-based medicine and clinical medicine

The differences between evidence-based medicine and clinical medicine are as follows:

The main purpose of evidence-based medicine and traditional clinical medicine is to solve clinical problems, but they are different in many aspects.

(1) Traditional clinical medicine is not systematic and complete in searching for documents; while evidence-based medicine is systematic and complete in searching for documents, which lays a solid foundation for obtaining the best evidence for the practice of evidence-based medicine.

(2) Traditional clinical medicine lacks evaluation standards, and the evaluation of evidence is not rigorous and biased; whereas, evidence-based medicine needs to scientifically identify the quality of a research evidence, analyze the degree of its authenticity, further evaluate whether it is of significant value in clinical care, and finally see whether the evidence can be applied to specific clinical practice, so that the evidence that has gone through a rigorous evaluation is true, reliable, and applicable. The final evaluation is whether the evidence can be applied to specific clinical practice, so that the evidence after rigorous evaluation is true, reliable and applicable.

(3) Traditional clinical medicine believes that mastery of disease mechanisms and pathophysiological principles, coupled with clinical experience from non-systematic observation, is sufficient to judge the prognosis of a patient, the efficacy of treatment, and the evaluation of diagnostic and therapeutic methods. This guides clinical decision-making in a scientific way with certain limitations, and the practicality is not certain; whereas evidence-based medicine believes that these are not all the bases for guiding clinical practice, and emphasizes the best evidence from systematic research, which guides clinical decision-making in a scientific way.

(4) Traditional clinical medicine evaluates new diagnostic and therapeutic methods only through traditional medical training methods, which often results in some effective therapies not being popularized for a long time, while some ineffective or harmful therapies are widely used, and medical services purchased at high costs are ineffective, so that the ability to improve the standard of medical care is not certain.

But evidence-based medicine is a clinical practice based on research evidence, which can reduce the differences in clinical practice between different regions; the development of new drugs adopts a more scientific approach to clinical trials, which makes it easier to obtain new drugs with precise efficacy and fewer side effects;

By evaluating and standardizing medical measures, and by formulating policies on reimbursement of health care costs based on scientific evidence, we can rationally and efficiently use the limited health resources. Evidence-based treatment choices that meet patients' needs for effective and affordable care; a shift from doctor-centered to patient-centered care; and a redefinition of treatment outcomes to improve the overall standard of care.