[Handbook for the preparation of evidence-based documents. Tools derived from scientific knowledge]

This handbook is intended to be an accessible, easy-to-consult guide to help professionals produce or adapt Evidence-Based Documents. Such documents will help standardize both clinical practice and decision-making, the quality always being monitored in such a way that established references are complied with.

Evidence-Based Health Care Committee, a member of "Virgen del Rocío" University Hospital quality structure, proposed the preparation of a handbook to produce Evidence-Based Documents including: a description of products, characteristics, qualities, uses, methodology of production, and application scope of every one of them.

The handbook consists of seven Evidence-Based tools, one chapter on critical analysis methodology of scientific literature, one chapter with internet resources, and some appendices with different assessment tools.

This Handbook provides general practitioners with a great opportunity to improve quality and as a guideline to standardize clinical healthcare, and managers with a strategy to promote and encourage the development of documents in an effort to reduce clinical practice variability, as well as giving patients the opportunity of taking part in planning their own care.