Medical journals are not good at getting doctors to change their behaviour. There is a substantial gap between the evidence they publish and what doctors do. Nor unfortunately are teachers good at change. Much of the investment in the multimillion dollar industry of continuing medical education is misplaced. Now a group from Toronto has taken a step beyond continuing medical education and developed something they call “knowledge translation” (p 33). The group hopes to shorten the journey between evidence and effect.

Knowledge translation uses a wide range of methods to achieve change. It's set in practice rather than …