What Should You Know About Evidence-Based Guidelines?

emsworld.com

As healthcare professionals we want to provide patients the best possible medical care. Prehospital care, like the rest of medicine, is constantly changing, since the research performed today will shape the medical care we deliver tomorrow.

The strongest type of research study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT).

An RCT minimizes potential bias by randomizing the administration of an intervention to some subjects while others (the control group) don’t get it.

Ideally evidence-based guidelines (EBGs) in EMS should be based on multiple RCTs.

To properly develop EBGs, a multistep process (the GRADE methodology) is required to review research studies on a specific topic.

The ultimate goal of EMS is provide patients the best healthcare possible. Yet research is constantly changing and improving how prehospital medical care is delivered. For this reason, EBM and EBGs using GRADE methodology are a crucial component of EMS now and in the future.

The PGC has a mission to assist in the development, implementation, and evaluation of prehospital evidence-based guidelines.

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