About the Company

Evidence Matters (EM) is an award-winning Canadian company which creates industry-specific, evidence-based knowledge solutions. Industry verticals range from medicine and mental health to finance and law. For each domain of application, a system is comprised of an online database, with custom content and references, a search engine, and data analysis tools that are quick and easy to use. This allows critical information to be transferred to users as soon as it is published, in standardized, summarized formats that are easily analysed and customized. The Evidence Matters solutions help users to be more up-to-date and evidence-based in their choices. Solutions are currently in use by physicians, researchers, decision-makers and interested patients, at leading academic and clinical centres in 3 languages and in more than 10 countries worldwide.

History and Milestones

Accepting the Samson Bélair/Deloitte & Touche $5000 prize for top company at the "Financial Angels" night in Montreal is Dr. Ofer Allan Avital, Founder and CEO of Evidence Matters. To the right is mayor of Montreal M. Gérald Tremblay, and to the left is Mme. Hélène Desmarais, honorary president of the evening, and director of Montreal's Centre d'entreprises et d'innovation.

• The Evidence Matters company launches Psych Evidence Matters, a mental health, evidence-based, online resource that is fast, easy to use, and dynamically customizable, like no other system available today in mental health.
• The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) and Evidence Matters reinforce their partnership, extending access to Medical Evidence Matters and Psych Evidence Matters to all existing JBI COnNECT members -- over 7,000 health service users worldwide.
• Despite a worldwide economy in recession, the launch and sales of Psych Evidence Matters are highly successful in 2009. New subscribers are notably active within the U.S. Federal market.
• In support to the academic community in these challenging times, Evidence Matters offers all teaching institutions free access to Psych Evidence Matters for the second half of 2009.

2008

• Evidence Matters (EM) develops Psych Evidence Matters (Psych EM)
• ProQuest obtains an exclusive license as provider of the Medical Evidence Matters (MEM) database, as a stand-alone, while the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) continues to sell MEM with its JBI COnNECT + suite.

2007

• The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) and Evidence Matters partner to provide an enhanced suite of evidence-based medicine and nursing applications, JBI COnNECT +.
• Leading institutions in over 10 countries worldwide are users of the Evidence Matters medical application.
• Speaker presentation on Evidence Matters at “Innovation Illuminated”, the Red Herring Canada conference in Montreal, Canada.
• Evidence Matters sponsors the 4th Guidelines International Network (G-I-N) conference in Toronto, Canada, where it also delivers a feature presentation.
• Evidence Matters launches Version 6.0, a significantly enriched application version with:
  • An improved results page, providing more study details and multiple sorting capabilities;
  • Simultaneous evidence-based and ranked searches on Pubmed;
  • “1-click" filters to personalize results more accurately after an initial, general search;
  • Direct access to full-text for all articles, via OpenURL; and
  • Spanish language content and interface.

2006

• Evidence Matters and ProQuest sponsor the Asia Pacific Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) Network Conference in Hong Kong, with a feature presentation by Evidence Matters.
• The medical Evidence Matters application is a finalist in the Best Science / Technical / Medical (STM) Information Product category of the International Information Industry (IIIS) Awards.
• Speaker presentation on Evidence Matters at the 2006 Online Information conference in London, UK.
• The content of the original, medical Evidence Matters application is expanded to cover the fields of Oncology, Cardiology, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders, Gastroenterology, Respiratory Disorders, Urology, Gynecology, Orthopaedics, and Paediatrics.
• A great review of the medical Evidence Matters application is published in the October 2006 issue of the Journal of Medical Library Association.
• Poster presentation on Evidence Matters at the Medical Library Association 2006 conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

2005

• Speaker presentation on Evidence Matters at the 3rd Guidelines International Network (G-I-N) conference in Lyon, France.
• ProQuest and Evidence Matters enter into an agreement for worldwide distributorship of the medical Evidence Matters application by ProQuest.
• Speaker presentation on Evidence Matters at the Medical Library Association 2005 conference in San Antonio, Texas.
• The first stand-alone Evidence Matters application is launched online and made available to the public, with Oncology content in both English and French.

2003

• Best Company award winner ($5000) at the Deloitte & Touche sponsored investment night "Anges Financiers".
• Winner of the $400,000 CANARIE Advanced Internet Initiative grant, one of the biggest government grants given to a medical company in Canada in 2003.
• Received over $1million in private financing from Medtech / MDS Capital.
• Speaker presentation at the Canadian Health Library Association conference and Poster presentation at the International Evidence Based Librarianship Conference, both held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
• Publication of paper on Evidence Matters in the Journal of the Canadian Health Library Association, summer 2003.
• Invitee to the Canadian Institute of Health Research "Think Tank" on Technology Enabled Knowledge Translation in Vancouver, Canada.
• Speaker presentation at the Knowledge Utilization Conference 2003, at the University of Laval, in Laval, Quebec, Canada (CIHR, CHSRF sponsors).

2002

• Beta-testing sites at Harvard and McGill teaching hospitals and research centres.
• Finalist for Best New Company in Canada, Canadian Youth Business Foundation.

2001

• Best Company $20,000 prize winner, from the "Fondation du maire de Montréal pour la jeunesse" in Montreal, Canada.
• The Evidence Matters company is founded in Montreal, Canada.