[Evidence and decision making process].

Abstract

The history of Evidence-Based Medicine is briefly reviewed, and also the concept of evidence used in Evidence-Based Medicine and its relation with the decision making process. Evidence-Based Medicine stresses the examination of evidence from research, especially clinical research, because this kind of evidence is obtained using objective methods and can be criticized. This kind of evidence is used as a masterpiece, together with other elements like social, cultural and economical factors to make the best possible decision. Sometimes evidence and the decision making process are confounded, but in the decision process, objective and subjective elements are combined, to maximally reduce the influence of subjective components. This allows to make the most adequate decision for every patient.