What is EBP?

EBP, better known as evidence-based practice in the medical/scientific world, or evidence-based psychotherapy in the psychological sense, has been around for hundreds of years. However, it was not until David Sackett and his associates formally defined EBP in 1996 that people really began paying attention to it. EBP began due to those in the medical community noting how prior found evidence could better support decision making in every context of the medical field. Over time, and particularly in the psychotherapeutic perspective, professionals began integrating specific details of the patient's daily lives, preferences, clinical state, developmental history, etc into EBPs. It's found to have many advantages, as well as challenges.

Advantages of EBP

When it comes to advantages, it does not come as a surprise that EBPs have them. It is logical that empirical evidence – that is, scientifically observed and documented evidence – would benefit medical practices in a way that anecdotal evidence cannot, seeing as it is based on personal experience not supported by data. One simple advantage is the fact that EBP maximizes the choice patients have in their own treatment; this not only puts some control back into the patient's hands – which, most likely, will aid in their psychological state – but it also takes some of the liability off of the practitioner which will limit their stress which will, in turn, aid their ability to better provide for their patients. EBP also drives out bias and provides a better ethical background, along with ensuring a sturdy framework to flexibly work from. It is especially helpful in the treatment of patients with multiple medical and psychological ailments. Practitioners of evidence-based practices tend to save time, money, and resources, as do the patients. It also makes sure professionals are kept up to date on the newest medical information in their field so they can better treat their patients.

Challenges of EBP

Just as there are advantages, there are disadvantages to anything in life, including EBPs. The first is that although you save time and money during your practices, that time and money is likely spent keeping up to date on said information needed for work. There is also concern about the generalizability of the evidence to the patients, seeing as the conditions and characteristics of the people under such experiments are not the same as your patients; this is why when one practices EBPs, they must use the evidence as groundwork and adjust it to the patient's specific background. The second is that if one focuses too much on the evidence and not enough on the patient or other clinical tools, the practice becomes unbalanced. This is particularly negative if EBP's effectiveness may be limited to the patient in question. Furthermore, EBP focuses more on making symptoms or disorders better, whereas many patients are simply seeking out how to cope better with the things life throws at them. EBP also struggles with the way psychotherapies typically work, which implements helping patients realize their problems to fix for themselves.