The Impact of Evidence-Based Practice on Healthcare Outcomes Across Health Professions

Abstract

Evidence-based practice (EBP) has emerged as the organizing principle of contemporary healthcare delivery, reshaping how physicians, nurses, pharmacists, rehabilitation therapists, and allied health professionals translate research into bedside and community action. This paper synthesizes the theoretical foundations, cross-professional applications, and measurable outcome effects of EBP, and situates that synthesis within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Health Sector Transformation Program under Vision 2030. Drawing on Donabedian's structure-process-outcome model, the Iowa and ACE Star models of knowledge transformation, and interprofessional competency frameworks, the paper develops an original synthesis instrument, the IMPACT-EBP framework, comprising six interacting domains: Infrastructure, Mentorship, Policy, Assessment, Collaboration, and Technology. The paper examines EBP adoption across medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physical and respiratory therapy, laboratory and radiologic sciences, dentistry, optometry and audiology, paramedicine, and public health, and reviews the empirical relationship between EBP fidelity and outcomes spanning mortality, morbidity, patient safety indicators, length of stay, cost, and workforce wellbeing. Particular attention is paid to regulatory and accreditation architecture in Saudi Arabia, including the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS), the Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI), the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), the Nphies claims and eligibility platform, the Mumaris+ licensing system, and the research infrastructure of the King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC). The paper concludes that sustained outcome gains depend not on isolated EBP training but on the simultaneous alignment of structural, cultural, regulatory, and technological conditions, and it offers policy and practice recommendations for health system leaders, professional regulators, and front-line clinical teams.