Different Weights of the Evidence-Based Medicine Triad in Regulatory, Health Technology Assessment, and Clinical Decision Making

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is defined as a systematic approach to clinical problem solving by the integration of best research evidence with real-world clinical expertise and patient values. Since those early days, decision requirements expanded from patient-centric clinical decision making to a population-based view including regulatory health technology assessments (HTAs). Regulatory bodies mainly rely on the totality of research evidence, which includes preclinical and all available clinical data. HTA bodies primarily focus on clinical data with a strong preference for comparative data from randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs). Conversely, bedside clinical decisions are largely driven by real-world clinical expertise, which takes into account the individual patients’ preferences, as well as the availability of supportive research evidence. While the focus on research evidence is a typical feature of the early part of the adoption curve for innovative technologies, HTA decision makers need to ensure that clinical expertise is also appropriately included in their decisions, in order to avoid beneficial medications from being not available to patients.