Evidence-based medicine and the anecdote: Uneasy bedfellows or ideal couple?

Over the past 30 years, there has been a resurgence in the use of
storytelling and narrative in medicine. At first glance, the trend to
incorporate art forms into medicine appears to run counter to the rise
of the more objective and positivist evidence-based medicine movement.
In the present article, the authors provide examples of the use
of storytelling and narrative in medicine, describe their origins, and
contrast this approach with evidence-based medicine. The authors
suggest that storytelling and narrative offer a complement to the science
of evidence-based medicine. Finally, the authors describe a program
of research to develop and evaluate the use of storytelling as a
communication tool between physicians and parents/caregivers of
children presenting to the emergency department.