A medical guideline (also called a clinical guideline, standard treatment guideline, or clinical practice guideline) is a document with the aim of guiding decisions and criteria regarding diagnosis, management, and treatment in specific areas of healthcare. Such documents have been in use for thousands of years during the entire history of medicine. However, in contrast to previous approaches, which were often based on tradition or authority, modern medical guidelines are based on an examination of current evidence within the paradigm of evidence-based medicine.[1][2][3] They usually include summarized consensus statements on best practice in healthcare. A healthcare provider is obliged to know the medical guidelines of their profession, and has to decide whether to follow the recommendations of a guideline for an individual treatment.[4]
- ^ Burgers JS, Grol R, Klazinga NS, Mäkelä M, Zaat J (2003). "Towards evidence-based clinical practice: an international survey of 18 clinical guideline programs". Int J Qual Health Care. 15 (1): 31–45. doi:10.1093/intqhc/15.1.31. PMID 12630799.
- ^ AGREE Collaboration (2003). "Development and validation of an international appraisal instrument for assessing the quality of clinical practice guidelines: the AGREE project". Qual Saf Health Care. 12 (1): 18–23. doi:10.1136/qhc.12.1.18. PMC 1743672. PMID 12571340.
- ^ Institute of Medicine (edt.) Clinical practice guidelines we can trust. Washington DC, 2011
- ^ Council of Europe. Developing a methodology for drawing up guidelines on best medical practice. Recommendation Rec(2001)13 and explanatory memorandum. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing, 2002.