Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T16:41:11.757Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Using clinical guidelines

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Sarah Marriott  and
Claire Palmer
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Guidelines are statements which help people to decide what to do. Familiar examples include the Highway Code, or the ‘How to Prepare’ instructions on a jar of coffee. Traditionally, clinicians have sought knowledge from their senior colleagues, tutors and mentors, textbooks and published articles. They will continue to do so. However, there has been a recent surge of interest in guidelines on specific clinical topics. This has been driven by interest in unexplained variation in patterns of care, concern that some care is inappropriate, and the growing demand for routine, clinically effective practice. Because clinicians have limited time and resources, it can be helpful to summarise evidence for effectiveness where it is available and provide it in a concise format (see Box 1).

Type
Research Article
Information
Advances in Psychiatric Treatment , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , January 1998 , pp. 25 - 30
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 1998 

References

Anonymous (1992a) Medical audit in general practice. I: Effects on doctors' clinical behaviour for common childhood conditions. North of England study of standards and performance in general practice. British Medical Journal 304, 1480–1484.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anonymous (1992b) Medical audit in general practice. II: Effects on health of patients with common childhood conditions. North of England study of standards and performance in general practice. British Medical Journal, 304, 1484–1488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allery, L., Owen, P. & Robling, M. (1997) Why general practitioners and consultants change their clinical practice: a critical incident study. British Medical Journal, 314, 870–874.Google Scholar
Clinical Practice Guideline Programme (1997) Guidelines in Mental Health: Bibliography. London: College Research Unit.Google Scholar
Dietrich, A. (1994) External support can change primary care practice patterns. In Disseminating Research/Changing Practice. (eds Dunn, E., Norton, P., Stewart, M. et al), pp. 173–185. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Effective Health Care Bulletin (1994) Implementing Clinical Practice Guidelines: Can Guidelines be Used to Improve Clinical Practice? No. 8. Leeds: University of Leeds.Google Scholar
Freemantle, N., Harvey, E., Wolf, F. et al (1997) Printed educational materials to improve the behaviour of health care professionals and patient outcomes. Cochrane Library, Issue 2. Oxford: Update Software.Google Scholar
Haynes, R. B., Davis, D., McKibbon, A. et al (1984) A critical appraisal of the efficacy of continuing medical education. Journal of the American Medical Association, 251, 61–64.Google Scholar
Hurwitz, B. (1994) Clinical guidelines: proliferation and medicolegal significance. Quality in Health Care, 3, 37–44.Google Scholar
Institute of Medicine (1992) Guidelines for Clinical Practice: From Development to Use (eds Field, M. & Lohr, K.) Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
Grimshaw, J. & Russell, I. (1993) Effect of clinical guidelines on medical practice: a systematic review of rigorous evaluations. Lancet, 342, 1317–1322.Google Scholar
Kanouse, D., Kallich, J. & Kahan, J. (1995) Dissemination of effectiveness and outcomes research. Health Policy, 34, 167–192.Google Scholar
Lomas, J. (1994) Teaching old (and not so old) docs new tricks: effective ways to implement research findings. In Disseminating Research/Changing Practice (eds Dunn, E., Norton, P., Stewart, M. et al), pp. 1–18. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Longman, G. & Duncan, R. (1977) Strategies for Planned Change. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Mansfield, C. (1995) Attitudes and behaviours towards clinical guidelines: the clinicians' perspective. Quality in Health Care, 4, 250–255.Google Scholar
Newton, J., Knight, D. & Woolhead, G. (1996) General practitioners and clinical guidelines: a survey of knowledge, use and beliefs. British Journal of General Practice, 46, 513–517.Google Scholar
Oxman, A. (1994) No Magic Bullets: A Systematic Review of 102 Trials of Interventions to Help Health Care Professionals Deliver Services More Effectively or Efficiently. London: North East Thames.Google Scholar
Robertson, N., Baker, R. & Hearnshaw, H. (1996) Changing the clinical behaviour of doctors: a psychological framework. Quality in Health Care, 5, 51–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rogers, E. (1983) Diffusion of Innovations (3rd edn). New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Russell, I. & Grimshaw, J. (1992) The effectiveness of referral guidelines: a review of the methods and findings of published evidence. In Hospital Referrals (eds Roland, M. & Coulter, A.) pp. 179–211. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Scottish Clinical Resource and Audit Group (1993) Clinical Guidelines: A Report by a Working Group set up by the Clinical Resource and Audit Group. Edinburgh: CRAG, The Scottish Office.Google Scholar
Wadell, G., Feder, G., McIntosh, A. et al (1996) Low Back Pain Evidence Review. London: Royal College of General Practitioners.Google Scholar
Wensing, M. & Grol, R. (1994) Single and combined strategies for implementing changes in primary care; a literature review. International Journal of Quality in Health Care, 6, 115–132.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.