What does evidence‐based health care add to the numerous initiatives in the UK over the last 10 years to improve the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of health care? The health care research and development industry has evolved into a patchwork of activities — clinical audit, clinical effectiveness, health services research, health outcomes, health technology assessment, quality in health care, clinical guidelines, systematic reviews, and medical informatics — with many blurred boundaries. Is evidence‐based health care just an old product in a new package, or does it offer new concepts?