2016 INDUCTEE Gordon Guyatt, MD Evidence-based Medicine & Clinical Trials, Patient Care

Born:

November 11, 1953

(Hamilton, Ontario )

Education:

MD, McMaster University (1977)

Awards & Honours:

2013: CIHR Researcher of the Year

2012: Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

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Picture of Gordon Guyatt

Advanced the methodologies of Evidence-Based Medicine

Dr. Gordon Guyatt

A champion of improved diagnosis and treatment using the best research evidence at point of care

One of the great innovations in general medical practice over the last several decades has been the wide acceptance and application of methodologies collectively known as Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM). At McMaster University, Dr. Gordon Guyatt was one of its earliest and most effective champions. Concerned with the intersection between the individual clinician and the expanding universe of medical knowledge, EBM has sought to integrate the complex structures of medical science and technology with the acquired experience of practicing clinicians to best serve the needs, desires and values of patients.

Key Facts

Coined the term “Evidence-Based Medicine”

Played a key role in the development of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach, now adopted by more than 90 organizations worldwide

He is one of Canada’s most cited researchers with over 1,000 publications

He is considered a world authority in the fields of health-related quality of life research, study design, systematic reviews, and guideline development

Played a leading role in the development of a number of highly successful disease-specific health related quality of life instruments

Professional timeline

Impact on lives today

Dr. Guyatt’s achievements have helped ensure that advancements in medical science will continue to support and improve quality of life for patients throughout Canada and the world

Picture of Gordon Guyatt

2023

  • Gordon Guyatt inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

  • The British Medical Journal chose Evidence-Based Medicine as one of the top 15 innovations in healthcare since the journal’s inception in 1840.

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

    Evidence-based Medicine & Clinical Trials

    Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the article led to rethinking the strategy for stopping clinical trials early.

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

    Evidence-based Medicine & Clinical Trials

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

    Evidence-based Medicine & Clinical Trials

    The worship has trained over 1000 leading educators from around the world.

  • 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

    Evidence-based Medicine & Clinical Trials

    Dr. Guyatt later spearheaded the formation of the Evidence Based Medicine Working Group, which went on to publish over 30 articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

  • Creating a Concept

    For a period of seven years, Dr. Guyatt served as Director of the Internal Medicine Residence Program where he led the initial development of the concept of EMB.

  • Dr. Guyatt joined McMaster’s Faculty of Medicine.

1983

A brilliant ability to synthesize very complex ideas and distill them down into something very simple.