title: Information technology and the inferential gap.
abstract: In medical practice, an "inferential gap" exists in two contexts: the nonapplication of relevant existing evidence, and the absence of evidence germane to a particular clinical situation. Randomized controlled trials are the current gold standard of evidence development; however, they suffer limits of generalization to the "real world." Conversely, observational studies might be more generalizable but are prone to bias, data inconsistency, and measurement error. The electronic health record offers hope for supporting the real-time presentation of information relevant to a clinical situation and serves as a platform for the conduct of large observational studies and novel quasi-experimental research.
authors.affiliation: HCA Healthcare, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Jonathan.Perlin@HCAHealthcare.com
authors.forename: Jonathan B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Perlin
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kupersmith
mesh_terms: D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D008490:Medical Informatics; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000592:standards; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017749:Total Quality Management