  Network meta-analysis (NMA) is a technique used in medical statistics to
combine evidence from multiple medical trials. NMA defines an inference and
information processing problem on a network of treatment options and trials
connecting the treatments. We believe that statistical physics can offer useful
ideas and tools for this area, including from the theory of complex networks,
stochastic modelling and simulation techniques. The lack of a unique source
that would allow physicists to learn about NMA effectively is a barrier to
this. In this article we aim to present the `NMA problem' and existing
approaches to it coherently and in a language accessible to statistical
physicists. We also summarise existing points of contact between statistical
physics and NMA, and describe our ideas of how physics might make a difference
for NMA in the future. The overall goal of the article is to attract physicists
to this interesting, timely and worthwhile field of research.
