2022
Gordon Guyatt
Physician scientist recognized for advancing quality in research
2022
Physician scientist recognized for advancing quality in research
McMaster University Professor Gordon Guyatt’s pioneering work in evidence-based medicine (EBM) has garnered him the 2022 Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research.
Dr. Guyatt, a physician who coined the term evidence-based medicine, is ranked as one of the world’s most-cited scientists. He published his first description of EBM in a 1991 paper. Today the term is used worldwide to describe health care based on the highest quality, current evidence available.
“In evidence-based medicine you need systematic reviews of the best evidence to guide your practice,” he explains. Dr. Guyatt has been at the forefront of developing the methods to do good systematic reviews.
“That’s another way of raising the quality of research.”
Dr. Guyatt also played a key role, along with Andrew Oxman from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and McMaster professor Holger Schunemann, in the development of the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach to medical research.
GRADE is a framework for developing and presenting summaries of evidence and a structure for moving from evidence to clinical practice recommendations. This approach has improved patient care by allowing health care providers to access clear and concise recommendations about the treatment of a given condition.
Dr. Guyatt’s work in improving research also includes major contributions to the quality of randomized clinical trials and measuring patients’ health status.
The GRADE approach is used by more than 110 organizations worldwide, including the World Health Organization.
