Show Me the Evidence

Reporting outcomes based on clinical evidence is going to set the standards for hand surgery practice. Hand surgeons will be judged by the evidence that their interventions are doing the most good for the most people at a price that patients and/or insurance companies are willing to pay. Evidence-based practice is the integration of the best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values. The best evidence comes from randomized clinical trials, which are expensive, time consuming, and not always possible. Sometimes we have to settle for good evidence, which may be the best evidence that is available. Nevertheless, if the future demands good evidence, then as hand surgeons and researchers we need to supply that evidence. Thus, first we have to know how and where to look for what's out there and then what we can do to add to this body of knowledge.