Acupuncture effective on many points

Find an acupuncturist

Evidence Based Medicine

  1. Home
  2. Kenniscentrum
  3. Evidence Based Medicine

Definition of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM)
The official definition of EBM is: the explicit, judicious, and conscientious use of the best available evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. All of this, taking into account the current state of (medical) science. 

The practice of EBM means integrating the following three factors in clinical decision-making:

Evidence Based Medicine


Evidence-Based Medicine in Healthcare
EBM has become the standard for quality care in recent decades. Policymakers and health insurance companies use this criterion [1]  to determine what constitutes meaningful and safe care. In (para)medical professions, such as nursing, psychotherapy, and physiotherapy, the Best Practice principle is applied. Complementary therapies, like acupuncture, have not yet met these standards.

Three generations of acupuncture research have sparked debates on whether acupuncture is evidence-based or not. Different countries have varying perspectives on this. For holistic and particularly practice-oriented medicine, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), satisfactory outcomes have not been reached after decades of research, neither for policymakers nor for the professional community. The main criticism from policymakers is the placebo argument: acupuncture is believed to be nothing more than an effective placebo. From the acupuncturists' perspective, the question remains about which research design can best measure the complex nature of an acupuncture treatment. The NVA is continuously developing criteria to ensure quality and promote adherence to Best Practice standards.

Remarks on EBM.
The evidence-based model (EBM) (medicine based on evidence) has not only supporters in healthcare, but also many critics. A good overview can be read on Wikipedia [2].

Greenhalgh T. discusses in her article [3] the unintended consequences of the EBM movement. She argues that the knowledge judgment of practitioners should not be underestimated in clinical decision-making.

Also, Prof. Dr. Yvo Smulders wonders if epidemiological evidence [4] is always the standard for determining good care.

The Council for Public Health and Society (RVS) has released a report [5] titled 'No Evidence Without Context,' in which they critically examine the assumption that proven care is always good care.

Upon inquiry, many acupuncturists* have transitioned to acupuncture out of frustration with the excessive EBM thinking.
* Read in the section 'Featured' - 'the acupuncturist speaks'. 

'Without clinical expertise practice risks become tyrannized by external evidence: For even excellent external evidence can be inapplicable to or inappropriate for an individual patient.'

David L. Sackett, 

Johanna Biemans MSc, Clinical Epidemiologist

References: