[The tragedy of the transfer of research into practice.]

Alessandro Liberati has been a pioneer of methods for the transfer of research into practice. In the last years this key component of medical practice and decision-making in public health has made one step forward and two steps backward. One forward because the awareness of the need for rational criteria for decision making, based on scientific evidence and literature synthesis, has grown. Two backward because the problems we face have become much more complex. With covid-19 we have seen a rapid acceleration of technological responses and of decision-making, but this has not necessarily followed the recommendations from evidence-based medicine, as testified by the confused bundling up of opinions on the measures to be taken at the bed of patients and at the policy-making level. With the threat of climate change, equally, we face a weak and uncertain process of selection of the best scientific evidence that can guide towards rational policy choices. In both cases the seeds that Alessandro has planted need to be disseminated and reinforced.