Evidence-Based Recommendations in Primary Care
Primary care is the initial contact that the patient has when they visit a health care facility. Nurses, nurse practitioners, clinicians, and general practitioners all use already established knowledge and procedures to treat and care for the patients. But where do they get this information? The answer is evidence-based practice (EBP). EBP dates back in the 1970s when a group of Physicians from Canada first introduced the idea that health care decisions should be based on external evidence. The idea would later gain attention to become an evidence-based practice in health care.
Evidence-based practice includes a system of strategies and guidelines developed from clinical expertise, scientific evidence, and patient perspective. In simple terms, it refers to the process of combining research, clinical, and patient preferences to come up with the most appropriate health care decisions. It ensures the use of high-quality information and procedures based on customs opinions, and rituals to make a medical decision. But EBP is not all about using research evidence but rather integrating the skills, knowledge, experience, and professional training and also assessing the patient’s condition, including the health, financial and social support to come up with the most appropriate decision.
The main objective of evidence-based research and practice is to provide the best quality of health care that is both effective and safe for patients to improve outcomes. When a patient comes in for treatment, they expect to receive the best available care they can get. Before making any clinical decision, the physician should ask questions such as, why am I choosing this treatment option? Is there any evidence to support or guide me in doing this? This ensures that the physician’s decision is well informed as per the available evidence.
There are dozens of evidence-based recommendations in primary care. But not all published research is of sufficient quality to be used in decision making. As a health care provider, before using any guideline, you should first critically analyze its validity, impact, and applicability to the patient. An excellent example of an evidence-based recommendation in primary care is providing oxygen to COPD patients. A physician should be able to give the correct treatment based on evidence to avoid serious issues such as acidosis, hypercarbia, and even death associated with providing oxygen to patients with COPD.
Even with the acknowledged benefits of EBP, the policy is still not wholly embraced. Some challenges preventing its integration in health care include inadequate funds, lack of understanding by leadership and regulation in health care facilities.
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