Full Description
Family physicians must make patient care decisions by carefully, transparently, and rationally using the best available evidence. This can be achieved through the practice of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM). To practice EBM, the physician needs to integrate their clinical experience with the best available evidence obtained through systematic research, along with the patient's values and expectations. The combination of the patient's conditions and preferences with the best available evidence will elevate the quality of the physician's decisions to the highest level. When evaluating a patient, the physician must rapidly and appropriately formulate a clinical question, seek answers in the evidence, critically appraise this evidence, and apply the obtained information to clinical practice. The easiest and most straightforward way to do this in practice is by using Clinical Practice Guidelines. Clinical Practice Guidelines are statements that include recommendations aimed at improving patient care by systematically reviewing evidence and evaluating the benefits and risks of alternative care options. The better organized and solidly grounded primary healthcare services are in a country, the more resolved the health problems of that country's population will be. Although family physicians, who form the most fundamental part of primary healthcare systems, serve a limited population, the scope of their services is quite broad. Due to the diversity of healthcare services, more resources will be needed for evidence-based and accurate clinical practices related to potential medical situations. One of the most important steps to strengthen primary healthcare is to provide specialized training for family physicians. Through specialized training, comprehensive and continuous patient-centered healthcare can be delivered to all patients in the community. The more equipped primary care physicians are and the more effectively they use available resources, the higher the quality of the service they provide will be. At this stage, it is crucial that the delivery of primary healthcare services, adopting an evidence-based medicine approach, becomes a part of health policy. In this regard, it is essential for family physicians to use clinical practice guidelines in managing the diseases they frequently encounter in their daily practice. This book will address the common diseases encountered by family physicians according to the recommendations of clinical practice guidelines available globally.
