Evidence-based health information

This World Evidence Based Healthcare Day PIF TICK manager Dan Wills explains why evidence-based health information matters.

Who do you trust? Would you let a random person into your house to fix your washing machine? No, you would go to a qualified repair person. 

How about fixing your car? Would you just drop it off outside a stranger’s house and hope they know what they are doing? No! 

So why do we do this with our health information?

As one cancer patient recently said, get a cancer diagnosis and unwanted advice comes pouring in.

We all want to help our friends and family stay safe by sharing information we believe will help them.

However, that information should be accurate, reliable and up to date.

Evidence-based health information

Good health information is evidence based.

It can help you make informed decisions and be more involved in your care.

A lot of evidence is based on patient data. That is information from people like you and me.

Find out more about the types of patient data here.

The PIF TICK

So how can you tell if the information you are viewing online is evidence based?

One way is to look for the PIF TICK.

All PIF TICK members must show their information is based on up-to-date, reliable evidence.

They must also make sure information is:

• Accessible
• Reviewed by experts
• Reviewed by users

Any references used to create information must be fully referenced and stored.

This means you can trust the information from PIF TICK organisations.

Quick guides to evidence

You can find out more about evidence by accessing our quick guides:

• What is evidence? Why is it important?
• What is clinical evidence?

See more