Archibald Cochrane: evidence, effectiveness and decision-making in health

Abstract

Nowadays, Evidence-Based Medicine plays a fundamental role while making medical decisions, considering that through the methods of science, it attempts to justify the variety of alternatives that may be offered to patients. In order to understand the historical evolution of this way of practicing medicine, it is necessary to review the contribution of one of the main participants in this cultural movement: Archibald Leman Cochrane, who helped to define the theoretical framework that has allowed the integration of science into the practice of medicine. Since he insisted in the need of integrating scientific evidence into clinical experience, his role became a fundamental and decisive element in the development of a new discipline: Evidence-Based Medicine.