Disadvantages Of Evidence Based Practice

Evidence based practice (EBP) is a process of integrating high quality evidence into practice or care provided by health professionals and decision makers in health care. This discussion will explore the meaning of the term Evidence Based Practice further and discuss its origins. EBP requires finding the best available evidence to inform practice, its greatest benefit being the best possible care for a client. Other benefits and limitations will be further discussed below. EBP demands the client be seen as an individual and their unique circumstances be considered in the application of evidence based care. This tailored care fits well with my current work as a midwife and my studies in Child and Family Health where partnership models of care

This definition then agrees with David Sacketts in that evidence is sought firstly by asking a question. Then there is a conscientious examination of the evidence so that it is known to be the best quality (accessing & appraising evidence). Evidence is judiciously used or used in context and with clinical expertise informing the options (after appraisal information is then applied). Importantly the patient or client is recognised as an individual with their own unique values and circumstances.
Also included in the process of EBP is the reviewing (auditing) of the effectiveness and efficiency of the steps above. The context of practice and a conscientious use of evidence would include the above definitions allude to this also. These definitions then point the major steps in EBP that can be easily remembered using the 5 A’s (asking, accessing, appraising, applying and auditing) (Hoffmann et.al, 2013).
The major benefit to clients is that EBP aims to “provide the most effective care that is available” (Hoffman et.al.

Some questions do not lend themselves to clinical trials or research at all due to ethical limitations. EBP requires a question to be asked clearly, tools to help define a question such as the PICO tool may help (Hoffmann et al., 2013).
While anyone can perform EBP, there is a limitation in that it does require training, experience and practice (Hoffman et al. 2013). Due to its’ relatively new arrival EBP training has not been accessible to all health professionals currently working. EBP has its own language and concepts, that some health professionals have not had the opportunity to understand. However there are tools available to assist. Databases such as Medline which is available on the internet via the PubMed interface provide tools to enhance knowledge and decision making as information may be reviewed and classified for you.
Melnyk et. al.,(2015) cite McGinty and Anderson(2008) in relating the benefits of EBP, improving health care quality, improving reliability of health care, better patient outcomes and reducing the variation in care and costs, However Melnyk et. al., (2015) relate that despite the benefits of EBP it is still not the standard of care adopted worldwide by health care