Checklists and other tools help doctors to use published evidence in clinical practice. Two other important sources of evidence, however, are the patient and his or her medical record. This series aims to advance the practice of evidence-based medicine by helping in redesign of medical records, drawing on insights from psychology, information design, and medical informatics; and by promoting changes analogous to those occurring in the medical literature. The four papers look at: the uses of medical records and importance of organising them so doctors can use the data they contain; different methods doctors use to search for data and how design of records can help or hinder these approaches; how we interpret data once found, and how record formatting assists this process; and the issues raised by computerisation of records.