Evidence-based medicine (EBM) emphasises the role of clinical research in guiding clinical decisions. The aim is to integrate medical research into clinical practice in the most efficient way. In spite of EBM pointing to basic requirements for optimal patient care, the formalisation of an EBM approach is still at a developing stage in many areas of medicine, including dermatology. EBM should avoid becoming a specialised separate discipline with its own jargon and peculiar literature, i.e. secondary publications and systematic reviews. Ideally, the emphasis should be moved from so-called secondary to primary research, and an agreement on what constitutes research priorities should be reached on an international level with large-scale independent clinical studies being mounted by the dermatological community on unaddressed issues.

Keywords:
Evidence-based medicine, Clinical research
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2002
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