For years, my colleagues and I have been using the phrase "practice-based evidence" to refer to clinicians’ use of real-time feedback to develop, guide, and evaluate behavioral health services. Against a tidal wave of support from professional and regulatory bodies, we argued that the "evidence-based practice"–the notion that certain treatments work best for certain diagnosis–was not supported by the evidence. Along the way, I published, along with my colleagues, several meta-analytic studies, showing that all therapies worked about equally well (click here to access recent studies children, alcohol abuse and dependence, and post-traumatic stress disorder). The challenge, it seemed to me, was not finding what worked for a particular disorder or diagnosis, but rather what worked for a particular individual–and that required ongoing monitoring and feedback. In 2006, following years of controversy and wrangling, the American Psychological Association, finally revised the official definition to be consistent with "practice-based evidence." You can read the definition in the May-June issue of the American Psychologist, volume 61, pages 271-285.
Now, a recent report on the Medscape journal of medicine channel provides further evidence that practice-based evidence is going mainstream. I think you’ll find the commentary interesting. Together with the link to the "debate of the century" posted below, it provides compelling evidence that an alternative to the dominent paradigm currently guiding professional discourse is taking hold.