Can Evidence-Based Medicine and Personalized Medicine Coexist?

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a philosophy of healthcare that aims to ensure that healthcare interventions are applied based on the best available evidence, combined with clinical expertise and patient values [1]. This is in contrast to the philosophy of “eminence-based” medicine, which is characterized by a paternalistic view that expert clinicians know what is best for their patients by virtue of their clinical experience. The term EBM was coined by Professor Gordon Guyatt in 1990 and further developed by academic physicians such as Professor David Sackett. Sackett described EBM as having three integrated key components: best available evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values [1]. Here, we discuss each of these three components in more detail.