Using BestBETs for Vets
BestBETs for Vets is designed to help provide easily accessible, up to date information to help vets make informed clinical decisions.
A BestBET tells you about the evidence on a specific clinical topic; it is not a rule that must always be followed.
The clinical bottom line of a BestBET is certainly not designed to be clinically prescriptive or used without question—every case and the circumstances of each patient are unique and this must always be taken into account when applying the evidence.
What can vets do with a BestBET?
Best practice: BETs can be used to help vets stay up to date on what the current evidence suggests on a specific topic. BETs could also be used as a discussion point for a practice meeting where best practice is being debated; maybe there is a difference of opinion within the practice which needs resolving. If there is a particular topic in question which we haven’t yet covered, you could compile your own BET in conjunction with us, or submit the question to us at the BestBETs for Vets web site and we will do our best to address it for you.
Journal clubs: Learning how to read research critically and using it to inform clinical practice can be extremely rewarding. A BET could be a starting point for a practice journal club so you can do this as a team. The critical appraisal sheets we use to assess the quality of studies for a BET are available here.
Clinical Guidelines: BETs are an easily accessible, synthesised form of evidence which could be used to contribute to creating clinical guidelines, with the ultimate aim of improving practice.