[The Cochrane Collaboration: the need for international collaboration]

The Cochrane Collaboration has undergone an unexpected growth since its inauguration during an international meeting in 1993. This collaboration was established in response to the criticisms of a British physician, Archie Cochrane, who criticised the medical profession because it had not organised a critical summary of all relevant randomised controlled trials. The driving force of the collaboration is the collaborative review groups who collect, sort and synthesize data concerning treatment efficacy in their particular area of interest. The Cochrane Centres and the Field Coordinations help them to do this and together the produce the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. The need for international cooperation is obvious because the information necessary to this system is produced throughout the world, and only some of this information is published.