Taking evidence-based plastic surgery to the next level: report of the second Summit on Evidence-based Plastic Surgery.

Abstract

Applying the principles of evidence-based medicine has the potential to drastically improve quality of care and patient outcomes. For this reason, evidence-based medicine has been held as one of the 15 most important developments in medicine within the past 100 years. In August of 2010, a broad coalition of leaders from numerous organizations representing societies, boards, journals, foundations, and academic institutions met in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the first Evidence-Based Plastic Surgery Summit. The summit signaled a sea change in the approach of organized plastic surgery to the promotion of evidence-based medicine within the specialty. It was determined that a strategic, coordinated, and sustained effort to drive an evidence-based medicine culture would accelerate adoption and advance quality of care and patient safety. Over the past 2 years, many of the goals of the initial summit have been met. In order to take our evidence-based medicine efforts to the next level, a second summit was recently held to redefine goals, focus efforts, address barriers, and launch new initiatives with broad consensus. This article documents the outcomes of the second Evidence-Based Plastic Surgery Summit.