Evidence-Based Medicine in Primary Care: Foundations, Applications, and Future Directions
Chapter from the book:
Gölcük,
Y.
(ed.)
2025.
Theoretical Foundations and Applied Clinical Knowledge in the Health Sciences.
Synopsis
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) integrates the best available research with clinical expertise and patient values. In primary care—where most people first interact with the health system—EBM is pivotal for improving outcomes, reducing unnecessary interventions, and enhancing cost-effectiveness. This chapter summarizes EBM’s theoretical foundations (evidence hierarchies, GRADE), its relevance to primary care, and major application domains: clinical practice guidelines, chronic disease management, screening and preventive services, vaccination, and antimicrobial stewardship. Evidence-informed recommendations lower morbidity and mortality in hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and COPD, while organized screening for cervical, breast, and colorectal cancer improves early detection and prognosis. Persistent implementation barriers include time constraints, limited access to up-to-date literature, variable local adaptability of guidelines, language challenges, and entrenched professional habits. Proposed solutions comprise concise guideline summaries, mobile decision-support tools, electronic health record prompts, and sustained continuing professional development. Ongoing digitalization enables faster, context-aware use of evidence at the point of care, though data security, privacy, and adoption issues require careful governance. Overall, effective EBM implementation in primary care is essential to safer, higher-quality, and more efficient care. System-level support, clinician education, and trustworthy digital infrastructure are key to aligning evidence with patient preferences and strengthening shared decision making.
