Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has been a fixture in medical education for over twenty years and is an expectation of clinical practice. However, physicians sub-optimally practice EBM due to a constellation of factors. This talk will explore how EBM is currently practiced, specifically the first two EBM steps (Ask and Acquire), to consider how current approaches to physician information needs and access may contribute to sub-optimal practice. Data from physician interviews and the analysis of clinical practice web logs will be presented and implications for the future design and dissemination of information resources, the creation of EBM training and the integration of evidence within health systems will be explored. These findings will also be considered in light of the emerging Learning Health System.

Lauren A. Maggio, MS (LIS), MA, currently serves as Director of Research and Instruction at Lane Medical Library at Stanford University and is a lecturer in the Department of Medicine. She is completing her PhD in health professions education in a joint program with University of Utrecht and University of California, San Francisco. She received a Certificate in Medical Informatics from the Marine Biological Laboratory / National Library of Medicine in 2007, an MS in Library and Information Science from Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science in 2005, and an MA in Children’s Literature from the University of British Columbia in 2004. Her scholarly and educational mission is to effectively connect people with information through the design of educational initiatives and to facilitate access to knowledge for public and professional use.