Centre for Evidence Based Practice Australasia [CEBPA]

Evidence based practice (EBP) is a core requirement for modern healthcare and it is essential that those involved as practitioners, researchers, teachers, policy-makers and 'consumers' share their knowledge and experience. As well as training in EBP, clinicians also require timely access to evidence based resources. One solution, as proposed by the 'EBP Australia Initiative' was for a 'virtual centre' for both clinicians and consumers that could address these needs - that is, a virtual Centre for Evidence-Based Practice Australasia (CEBPA).

The model of a 'virtual extranet', based upon a Web 2.0 'cloud', or collection of EBP resources, sourced/contributed from across Australia and New Zealand, can function as a working collaboration between clinicians from all disciplines, in community and institutional settings, as well as between academics, teachers, researchers, administrators and consumers, to better inform knowledge and practice.

The content of the CEBPA 'cloud' is based on resources compiled by a wide range of contributors. Key features include :

* ERA (Evidence Repository Australasia): a 'warehouse' for evidence summaries generated within Australasia.
* Clinical ANZwers: a tool to convert evidence summaries into clinical questions & answers.
* Evidence Australasia: a dedicated search engine that searches guidelines and similar sites across Australasia.
* Converge: a communities of practice communications hub, linking clinicians, health policy-makers, academics, researchers and health consumers across Australasia on issues relating to EBP.
* Critical appraisal and clinical audit resources (including AuditMaker, CAT check lists and GateLite)
* an EBM Toolbox
* dynamic EBP news feeds/mashups/alerts
* a dedicated Virtual Learning Centre that can provide online classrooms and the facilities for developing online EBP courses, etc (In development)