EBM, the unknown…
It has been 20 years since the publication of the JAMA article that introduced EBM to the international scientific community. And 40 years have passed since the publication in Great Britain of “Effectiveness and Efficiency. Random reflections on health services” by Archibald Cochrane, a milestone book that has had such a significant influence on the development of health services around the world. The book was translated into Italian in 1978 by Feltrinelli in the Medicina e Potere series and re-proposed in 1999 by Pensiero Scientifico Editore with an edition enriched by what was added in subsequent English editions: Efficiency and effectiveness.
What about Archie's ideas today?
Archie's ideas helped create the Cochrane Collaboration for the dissemination of evidence-based health care. Since the first Cochrane center in Great Britain was founded in 1993 to date, the Cochrane Collaboration has built a truly international network with more than 50 working groups in more than 100 countries around the world engaging over 28,000 healthcare professionals, researchers and representatives of patient associations. Also in Italy we have a Cochrane Group, founded in 1995 by Alessandro Liberati who between "reason and passion" promoted and defended evidence-based medicine. Over the years Alessandro Liberati has done a great job to connect Italian healthcare professionals with EBM. But there is still a lot to do…
Meaning what?
I have the impression that too few Italians know EBM and that the diffusion of Cochrane's ideas has stalled in our country. I recently gave a talk where I presented the concepts of EBM to a dozen colleagues at the Viterbo Emergency Department. With surprise I laughed
