Evidence-based medicine from a social science perspective

Background Since the emergence of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in the 1980s, social scientists - including historians, sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists and philosophers - have attempted to reckon with the movement's origins, implications and consequences. Objectives This paper reviews the social science literature related to EBM and attempts to draw some conclusions for the future improvement of EBM. Discussion The paper divides the discussion of evidence-based into three critiques: the 'statistics' critique, the 'cookbook' critique and the 'neo-liberal' critique. Incorporating social sciences approaches into clinical education and clinical research will be critical to the future development and success of EBM.