"Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence-based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research."*

"Evidence based practice is the conscientious use of current best evidence in making decisions about patient care (Sackett, Straus, Richardson, Rosenberg, & Haynes, 2000). It is a problem-solving approach to clinical practice that integrates: a systematic search for and critical appraisal of the most relevant evidence to answer a burning clinical question, ones's own clinical expertise, patient preferences and values."*

In the care of patients, evidence-based medicine incorporates three distinct components: clinical expertise, research evidence, and patient preference.