There are many search tools and engines available that offer access to a range of medical literature, but until now there has been no way to judge the accuracy of that information. Each reviewer then grades the evidence on a six-point scale and writes a review of the existing literature, incorporating that grading scale. Physicians and their patients who use WebEBM will be able to see the rating for each treatment recommendation. Access to WebEBM will be licensed to hospitals and health care systems for use by their physicians. In addition to allowing patients to view treatment information, WebEBM takes electronic communications one step further by making it possible for physicians to post messages and instructions on each patient's customized home page.
Patients then can report back to their physician via WebEBM with updates on their status.
This feedback feature will enable physicians to gather and track patient-related information to judge how well each patient's recommended treatment is working. Patient-specific information goes only to the patient's physician. WebEBM is an exciting new concept that is going to help build bridges between physicians and their patients. This simply gives them a new and better tool to use for patient care. WebEBM also will serve as a tool for promoting life-long learning for physicians, because treatment recommendations will be regularly reviewed and updated as additional outcome information becomes available.