Evidence-Based Practice

Auditing involves systematically monitoring and evaluating implemented interventions to assess their effectiveness. This includes comparing observed outcomes with expected results, analysing data, identifying discrepancies, and conducting root cause analyses when needed. The process establishes a feedback loop, informing healthcare providers about the success of interventions and prompting adjustments for continuous improvement.

Consider the below as a part of this step:

• Ongoing monitoring and evaluation: Healthcare professionals continuously assess the patient's progress, adjusting interventions as needed. This iterative process ensures that care remains aligned with the best available evidence and the patient's evolving needs.
• Documentation: The application of evidence is documented in the patient's health records. This includes details about the selected interventions, patient preferences, and any adjustments made to the care plan over time.
• Reflection and continuous learning: Healthcare providers reflect on their experiences and outcomes, considering what worked well and what could be improved. This reflective practice contributes to continuous learning and refinement of future clinical decisions.

The audit step is iterative, allowing for ongoing adaptation to new evidence and changing patient needs. Findings may lead to performance improvement initiatives aimed at ensuring healthcare practices align with evidence-based principles. Documentation and reporting of outcomes support organisational learning, and accountability in delivering high-quality, evidence-based care.

By engaging in the appraisal step, practitioners ensure that the evidence they rely on is of high quality, relevant, and applicable to their specific context, ultimately contributing to more informed and effective decision-making in their professional practice.

Please refer to Chapter 8 of Evidence-based medicine: How to practice and teach EBM by Straus, Glasziou, Richardson and Haynes for guidance on how to documents and report this step.

Systematic Reviews contain all the elements of evidence-based practice, plus rigorous recording and reporting of research conducted.

For more in-depth and information on these elements, refer to our guide:

Beginner study and research support:

Intermediate and advanced research support:

Access resources provided by Murdoch University Library: