Evidence-based Medicine: A Narrative Review on the Evolving Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) undeniably classifies as a pre-eminent advance in the clinical approach to decision-making. Although EBM as a topic has been discussed at length, it is more about the process of integrating EBM into practice, wherein the actual debate becomes even more interesting with unique roadblocks cropping up at the very end of the translational highway. Meanwhile, the core concept of EBM has stood firm over decades; it is likely the research landscape and the corresponding intricacies continue to evolve at a rather rampant pace. Evidence-based practice is thus best elaborated in close conjunction with the recent advent of precision medicine, the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, and the ever-compounding present-age research concerns. In this reference, the randomized controlled trials and now the meta-analysis (second-order analysis of analyses) are also being increasingly scrutinized for the contextual veracities and how the quality of the former can be rendered more robust to strengthen our epic pyramid of EBM. Withstanding, the index narrative article is a modern-day take on EBM keeping abreast of the evolving opportunities and challenges, with the noble objective of deliberating a standpoint that aims to potentially bridge some of the existing gaps in the translation of research to patient care and outcome improvement, at large.