Innovative Approaches to Analyzing Clinical Evidence

Clinical guidelines are available in abundance, through peer-reviewed medical journals, library-based databases and evidence-based reports. But these guidelines may not provide recommendations that are ideal for our patients’ individual needs. What if we could merge relevant data from a range of studies, creating instant meta-analyses tailored to our patients? Host Dr. Jennifer Shu explores this concept with Dr. Todd Feinman, practicing hospitalist at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif., and founder of Doctor Evidence, a Web-based customizable digital database of disease treatment and drug efficacy information. Could medical organizations use similar mechanisms to develop policy statements or clinical recommendations?