It is not a secret that many universally recognized methods in medicine did not receive yet scientific study. It means that many approaches were not scientifically proved, although they were quite effective. In order to change the situation in the medical sphere the evidence based practice was introduced into the healthcare system on its every level: from psychology to neurosurgery.
Still, not all practitioners agreed with to adopt the evidence based practice so rapidly. The thing is that apart from positive aspects of the evidence based practice introduction there were lots of negative ones. Some experts believe that work according to the evidence based practice approach slows down the whole medical process: one should look through lots of literature in order to find arguments which prove safe application of this or that medical method. Moreover, the evidence based practice prevents a medical worker from creative work.
Nevertheless, despite some negative aspects of evidence based practice, there are lots of benefits of this approach from the point of view of patients and their health, and quality of medical service. Family and marriage therapy is one of the medical fields in which the evidence based practice is applied. “Evidence-based or empirically supported treatment (that is treatment that has shown efficacy in research trials) is rapidly becoming of critical importance to the mental health community as the demand for quality and accountability increase” (Dattilio, Jongsma, & Davis, 2010, p. 2). Success of the evidence based psychology in family and marriage can be explained by the fact that treatment and therapy is held in a very qualified manner. Education of all medical workers is not stopped by the fact that they graduated from universities or colleges. The essence of medical sphere predetermines that a psychologist would obtain new knowledge until the end of his/her career. The evidence based practice is exactly the approach which serves to this aim. “Marital and family therapists who want to maintain an ethical practical based on current knowledge must continue learning throughout their careers” (Barker, 2007, p. 17). Just think, if a psychologist is not sure, or does not know what type of treatment he/she should apply to a certain problem in family and marriage aspect, he/she may use database in order to find an appropriate method. It is obvious that such procedure is beneficial not only for health of patients, but also for improvement of professional skills.
Another question is whether the evidence based approach is easily maintained in the system of healthcare. The thing is that some medical workers are not familiar with computer programs and computer itself. Lots of literature is available in computer or online database. In other words, if a practitioner needs information, computer may facilitate search for necessary medical facts. That is why those therapists and other medical workers have problems with computer usage should offered to take courses which may help them to learn elementary skill necessary for usage of computer database. Such step will definitely improve medical service. Of course, evidence based practice should be legally adopted in order to support as a part of medical law.
Managed care climate and organization may serve as a department of medical utilization reviewer. Of course, such organizations arouse lots of debates over the question whether their usage is ethical or not. It is obvious that introduction of managed care climate would be beneficial for the evidence based practice implementation, as it would promote its usage. Still, not all medical departments have formed system of managed care climate.
References
Barker, P. (2007). Basic Family Therapy. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.
Dattilio, F. M., Jongsma, A. E., & Davis, S. D. (2010). The Family Therapy Treatment Planner (PracticePlanners?). Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.