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Evidence Based Health Practice

Evidence-based health practice applies the scientific method to use the best available evidence—from physical exams, diagnostic reviews, medical research, and known risks and benefits of treatment options—when making medical decisions. RAND has investigated the impact of adopting evidence-based health practices on patient care and health care policies, and the greater implications of using a national quality measurement and reporting system.

Journal Article
Brief Online Interventions Targeting Risk and Protective Factors for Increased and Problematic Alcohol Use Among American College Students Studying Abroad
Interventions that target risky drinking behavior among college students studying abroad are still in their infancy.
Mar 14, 2017
Journal Article
Evaluating Surrogate Marker Information Using Censored Data
Given the long follow-up periods that are often required for treatment or intervention studies, the potential to use surrogate markers to decrease the required follow-up time is a very attractive goal. However, previous studies have shown that using inadequate markers or making inappropriate assumptions about the relationship between the primary outcome and surrogate marker can lead to inaccurate conclusions regarding the treatment effect.
Mar 14, 2017
Journal Article
Quality of Care Measures for the Management of Unhealthy Alcohol Use
Proposed quality of care measures for unhealthy alcohol use focus on screening, assessment, treatment, and follow-up in outpatient care.
Mar 13, 2017
Journal Article
Medical Oncologists' Experiences in Using Genomic Testing for Lung and Colorectal Cancer Care
More research is needed to determine whether the observed variation in genomic testing for lung and colorectal cancer reflects appropriate or inappropriate care.
Mar 13, 2017
Multimedia
Time to Re-evaluate Sleep Policies?
In this Call with the Experts, RAND senior behavioral and social scientist Wendy Troxel explains the consequences of sleep loss.
Mar 10, 2017
Commentary
On Vaccines, Trump Should Rely on Science
Research has proven that vaccines are extremely safe and effective. The public health implications of questioning this are serious. America should take every opportunity to protect kids by vaccinating them against every vaccine-preventable disease.
Jan 25, 2017
Multimedia
2016 RAND Summer Institute
Video session from the 23rd Annual RAND Summer Institute, held July 11-14, 2016, in Santa Monica, California, which addresses critical issues facing our aging population.
Jan 6, 2017
Commentary
Toward a Learning Behavioral Health Care System
New technologies for capturing and sharing data have begun to transform the way providers practice medicine in the United States. Expanding these technologies to behavioral health care could enhance the delivery of services and improve outcomes for millions of Americans.
Dec 20, 2016
Journal Article
Hyaluronic Acid Injection Therapy for Osteoarthritis of the Knee: Concordant Efficacy and Conflicting Serious Adverse Events in Two Systematic Reviews
A lack of standards for reporting and synthesizing adverse events associated with common treatments can lead to conflicting conclusions about the balance of their benefits and harms.
Nov 28, 2016
Report
Improving Population Health Through an Innovative Collaborative: The Be There San Diego Data for Quality Group
The Be There San Diego Data for Quality (DFQ) Group created a safe venue for competing health care organizations in San Diego County to share performance data on quality-of-care measures, insights, lessons learned, and challenges they face.
Sep 26, 2016
Journal Article
The "Retrofitting" Approach to Adapting Evidence-Based Interventions: A Case Study of Pediatric Asthma Care Coordination, United States, 2010–2014
This case study of pediatric asthma care coordination found preliminary support for the validity of retrofitting concept--adapting evidence-based modifications rather than entirely new interventions.
Sep 14, 2016
News Release
Cost Savings Possible from Reducing Use of Low-Value Health Services
The first national study to examine spending on a wide array of low-value health services among adults with commercial health insurance finds that while use of such services is modest, there is considerable potential for cost savings.
Aug 29, 2016
Journal Article
EPC Methods: AHRQ End-User Perspectives of Rapid Reviews
Provides insight into the perspectives of AHRQ evidence synthesis end-users, highlighting as important: the credibility of the review producer, relevance of key questions, and close working relationship between the end-user and review producer.
Aug 1, 2016
Journal Article
Estimation of Benefits, Burden, and Harms of Colorectal Cancer Screening Strategies: Modeling Study for the US Preventive Services Task Force
Comparative modeling of colorectal cancer screening methods for previously unscreened adults found that the use of four strategies over different intervals between the ages of 50 and 75 years yielded a comparable balance of benefit and burden.
Jun 21, 2016
Report
Agreement with, and feasibility of, the emerging recommendations from the Living with Breathlessness study: Findings from an online stakeholder survey
This report contains the findings from an online survey of stakeholders who work with people living with advanced COPD to explore agreement with, and feasibility of the recommendations from the Living with Breathlessness study.
Jun 6, 2016
Journal Article
Depression Quality of Care: Measuring Quality Over Time Using VA Electronic Medical Record Data
Analysis of administrative data showed that VA improved depression follow-up between FY2000 and FY2010, and that treatment rates compared favorably with non-VA benchmarks
May 19, 2016
Journal Article
Mental Health Services Research in the Military Health System
The Military Health System faces unique challenges in mental health services delivery; evidence-supported solutions require collaboration of patients, providers, and clinic leaders within military health.
May 11, 2016
Journal Article
A Learning Behavioral Health Care System: Opportunities to Enhance Research
A learning health system could help address current challenges in delivery of behavioral health care, from lack of care coordination and decision-support tools to disparities in access, quality, and outcomes.
May 9, 2016
Commentary
What Makes Stakeholders Want to Become Involved in Research?
Involving stakeholders in comparative-effectiveness research is important. But competing demands for their time can make this a challenge. Why do stakeholders get involved in this research, or not?
May 2, 2016
Commentary
What Do Stakeholders Say About Comparative-Effectiveness Research?
Insurers, employers, and industry are some of the stakeholder groups that are critical to the success of comparative-effectiveness research. Current research models may not provide stakeholders with all the information they need to support their involvement.
Apr 25, 2016

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RAND Topic:
Evidence Based Health Practice

Topic Synonyms:
EBP;
Evidence-Based Practice

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Carl Berdahl

Affiliated Adjunct Physician Policy Researcher

Carl Berdahl (he/him) is an affiliated adjunct physician policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Also an emergency physician and health services researcher at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, his primary research objective is to improve the quality and safety of emergency care by designing better…
Joachim O. Hero

Associate Policy Researcher

Joachim O. Hero is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. He applies frameworks and methods in quantitative survey research, systematic literature review, and policy analysis to study topics in health care and public health. In health care his research has covered issues in…

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