Improving health and patient outcomes Evidence-based Medicine & Clinical Trials

Recognizing and treating disease dates back many millennia. The input of the scientific method – with experiments both in the laboratory and at the bedside – allowed diagnosis and management of various afflictions to gradually improve. Eventually, more formalized training and certification of doctors and other health care providers emerged, and with it, an increased ability to pass on knowledge.  This has evolved in recent decades to a more rigorous scientific approach where carefully controlled experimental design techniques have led to valid, evidence-based management options and measurable improvements in our treatment of disease.

 

Doctor and patient Doctor doing research

Evidence-based Medicine & Clinical Trials

  1. 1975

    Dr. Ronald Melzack developed the McGill Pain Questionnaire

  2. 1976

    Henry Barnett conducted the first randomized trial to show that aspirin prevents stroke

  3. 1979

    Cyclosporine was discovered

  4. 1980

  5. 1985

    The first edition of Clinical Epidemiology: A Basic Science for Clinical Medicine was published

  6. 1989

    Cate Hankins led pioneering research on HIV in correctional settings in Canada

  7. 1990

  8. 1990 - 1994

    Dr. Meakins advocates for clinical trials to study the efficacy of lithotripsy for gallstones and the benefit of laparoscopic cholecystectomy

  9. 1991

    Dr. Gordon Guyatt was the single author of an article that was the first to use and describe the term of EBM in medical literature

  10. 1993

    Canada’ first and only national HIV clinical cohort study is established

  11. 1995

    Beginning in 1995, Dr. Guyatt led a McMaster based workshop on “How to Teach Evidence Based Clinical Practice”

  12. 2000

  13. 2001

    Along with Dr. Rennie Drummond, Dr. Guyatt edited the Users’ Guides to the Medical Literature: A Manual for Evidence Based Clinical Practice

  14. 2003

    David Jenkins develops the Portfolio Diet, a therapeutic vegan diet emphasizing a portfolio of foods associated with the lowering of cholesterol

  15. 2005

    Dr. Guyatt and his team published ground-breaking work on the consequences of stopping randomized controlled trials early for presumed clinical benefit

  16. 2010

  17. 2020

About the CMHF

The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (CMHF) celebrates Canadian heroes whose work advances health in Canada and the world, fostering future generations of health professionals through the delivery of local and national youth education programs and awards.

This enduring tribute to our country’s rich medical history is showcased here and in our physical exhibit hall in London, ON