Archie Cochrane and His Vision for Evidence-Based Medicine

Archibald (Archie) Cochrane's most influential mark on health care was his 1971 publication, Effectiveness and Efficiency. This book strongly criticized the lack of reliable evidence behind many of the commonly accepted health care interventions at the time. His criticisms spurred rigorous evaluations of health care interventions and highlighted the need for evidence in medicine. His call for a collection of systematic reviews led to the creation of The Cochrane Collaboration. Archie Cochrane was a visionary person who helped lay down much of the foundation for evidence-based medicine. This article introduces evidence-based medicine to plastic surgery by tracing its history to the seminal efforts by Archie Cochrane. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 124: 982, 2009.)