Clinical Decision Science emphasizes unique social context in a way that Evidence-Based Medicine does not

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The ideal of evidence-based medicine includes the integration of clinical experience and patient values with research evidence. We introduce clinical decision science, a new framework that includes patient social context to demonstrate this integration, which has been absent from evidence-based medicine sources. METHODS: This is an observational study comparing published articles within the domains of clinical decision science and evidence-based medicine. In a standardized manner, investigators identified and counted instances of social interaction within the publications. RESULTS: Publications of Clinical Decision Science had a higher number of markers of social interaction per paper and greater proportion of papers that included any markers of social interaction compared to publications in the Evidence-based medicine domain. DISCUSSION: We identified a framework that allows exploration of a new scientific domain that includes both research evidence and individual patient social context.

From the editor: Defining the scholarship of Clinical Decision Science

“…In this issue, we've taken the next step in advancing this area of scholarship: publishing an original research article that uses descriptive data to differentiate "Clinical Decision Science" from "Evidence-based Medicine." 17 We intend to continue exploring the scholarship of Clinical Decision Science with all types of scientific inquiry.…”