The primary purpose of the PICO question is to ask the question, "Should we change our practice to include this new intervention or continue with our current policy/procedure, when caring for this patient population?" The decision to change practice will be based on the measured outcomes of the studies.
The PICO question is a formula that is applied throughout the EBP process.
It is not coincidence that this process is called formulating. When you formulate a PICO question, you are creating a formula that does several things: