Abstract  (Baer & Centner; Centner & Baer)
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Medical Informatics Resources    (EBM - Part 1, 7:30 AM)
Technology Workshop   (EBM – Part 2, 9:30 AM)

On a daily basis physicians encounter questions about the effectiveness of a preventive or therapeutic intervention, the interpretation of diagnostic tests or the prognosis of disease in one of their patients. These sessions are designed to assist practitioners in finding the best evidence and resources available to support and enhance their clinical  decision-making process. Participants will develop skills and learn techniques so they can construct clear clinical questions, select appropriate databases to find relevant clinical evidence and evaluate information for validity and usefulness. Sessions will focus on evidence-based medicine and cover the following topics:

This topic will be covered in two parts. Although attendance at both sessions is not necessary, the two sessions have been designed to be attended in sequence by physicians who are new to evidence-based medicine and who are interested in how evidence-based medicine might potentially be used in their own clinical practice.

In the medical informatics session (7:30 AM), participants will be introduced to theoretical concepts and physical tools that form the basis of evidence-based medicine. After attending this session, physicians will have some new strategies for incorporating the continued exponential growth of medical knowledge into their clinical practices.

In the technology workshop session (9:30 AM), participants will have the opportunity to engage in a hands-on exploration of electronic sources of "evidence". The session will be conducted in a room with 10 computers. Participants will be guided through the process of "finding evidence" on-line. After attending this session, physicians will have enough first-hand exposure to on-line acquisition of evidence to enable them to explore, from their own offices, the utility of the concepts introduced in the early morning session.

There are many sites dedicated to evidence-based medicine. We encourage participants to explore on their own. The following links are some starting places for finding "evidence" and additional EBM sources:

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