Going to the next level: Health care's evolving expectations for evidence
Received 17 July 2009; accepted 27 July 2009. published online 01 October 2009.
Abstract
Rhinologic literature has historically relied on lower levels of evidence to make prescriptive recommendations for use of new technology and procedures. However, as the medical profession has moved to embrace the principles of evidence-based medicine, expectations for minimum standards of evidence have risen. The resulting high-quality efficacy outcomes data have become the linchpin of informed decision making by physicians, payers, and health care systems. While many challenges remain in this transition to higher evidence expectations, none are insurmountable. It has become the responsibility of the organized medical profession to play a role in influencing and supporting production of high-quality outcomes research.
aDepartment of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
bOtolaryngology and Communicative Sciences, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS
cHead and Neck Oncology Program, Dana Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, Boston, MA
dDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
eDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX
fDepartment of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, East Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA
gSinus and Allergy Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
hDepartment of Otolaryngology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Aurora, CO
iDepartment of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
jDepartment of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
kDepartment of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC
lDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY
Corresponding author: Bradley F. Marple, MD, Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX 75390-9035
Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article.
ABSTRACT