Exploration of Stratified Evidence Scoring Method of Acupuncture Clinical Practice Guidelines

Due to its own internal laws of development, Chinese medicine (CM) seems more inclined to empirical medicine in a relatively long historical period. It is considered to be lacking objective and unified clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), and the difficulties in diagnosis and therapeutic effect evaluation comes with it, have restricted its further inheritance, development and international communication. Over the years, our research group has been committed to improving the standardization theory and methodology of CM, also perfecting relative techniques for further application, which are all based on the stratified evidence scoring method. We have already applied this method to 45 issued guidelines, including 5 national guidelines, 3 industrial guidelines, and 37 formulation/revision social organization guidelines. The stratified evidence scoring method has been recognized and used widely. It helps scholars and applicators to study, formulate, publish and popularize the acupuncture therapy clinical practice guidelines better, thus further promotes the development of acupuncture therapy.