Epistemological and ethical issues of evidence-based concept in medicine

Abstract

Despite of active implementation of the concept of “evidence-based medicine” into all areas of medical education, clinical science and practical healthcare, the epistemological problems of this new scientific reality currently remain underdeveloped in the philosophy of science. Aim: to identify the epistemological and ethical problems inherent in the evidence-based approach in medicine. Methods: The epistemological and ethical aspects of the concept of evidence-based medicine were considered. Results: At the current stage, evidence-based medicine reflects a transitional stage from the classical to the non-classical research paradigm. In this regard, the epistemological and ethical aspects of the concept of evidence-based medicine require further study and critical reflection. Conclusions: The discourse of evidence adopted in medicine today is aimed at increasing the objectivity of medical knowledge from practical point of view. However, this approach is not without significant drawbacks, including the overestimation of statistical patterns at the expense of “individual clinical differences”, the implicit primacy of phenomenological settings over the theoretical layer in the postulated structure of the scientific program, the unjustifiably rapid doctrinalization of the approach and the stigmatization of its opponents.