Evidence based medicine--an oral history

Provides the background to one of modern medicine’s greatest intellectual achievements The phrase evidence based medicine was coined by Gordon Guyatt1 and then appeared in an article in “The Rational Clinical Examination” series in JAMA in 1992,2 but its roots go much further back. The personal stories of the origins of evidence based medicine were recently explored in a filmed oral history of some of the individuals most strongly associated with the birth of the movement (see video). JAMA and the BMJ invited six individuals (including us, with RS as host) who have played a prominent part in the development of evidence based medicine to participate in an oral history event and filming. Videos of this event and of interviews with three other evidence based medicine leaders (box) have been woven together and may be accessed at http://ebm.jamanetwork.com. Just 20 years after the term began to be used, an early and informal history has emerged. #### Leaders participating in evidence based medicine: an oral history