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Why these guidelines are needed
There has been a widespread move towards developing clinical practice guidelines, which are designed to improve the quality of health care, to reduce the use of unnecessary, ineffective or harmful interventions, and to facilitate the treatment of patients with maximum chance of benefit, with minimum risk of harm, and at an acceptable cost. Recent research has shown that clinical practice guidelines can be effective in bringing about change and improving health outcomes. But they are just one element of good medical decision making, which also takes account of patients’ preferences and values, clinicians’ values and experience, and the availability of resources.
There have been few widely accessible guides for groups seeking to develop clinical practice guidelines. This document puts forward a method for developing such guidelines in Australia.
Traditionally, guidelines have been based on the development of consensus among experts, although this process has limitations and can lead to flawed conclusions. There is now growing recognition that guidelines should be based, where possible, on the systematic identification and synthesis of the best available scientific evidence.
Clinical practice guidelines will be effective only if they are perceived to be helpful and are actually used in clinical decision making. Many individuals and groups found the earlier version of this document, published by the National Health and Medical Research Council in 1995, very helpful. This revised edition reflects concern that greater emphasis should be placed on guideline implementation and evaluation.
Key principles for developing guidelines
There are nine basic principles for developing guidelines.
1. Processes for developing and evaluating clinical practice guidelines should focus on outcomes. Outcome measures can range from survival rates to quality-of-life attributes.
2. Clinical practice guidelines should be based on the best available evidence and should include a statement about the strength of their recommendations. Evidence can be graded according to its level, quality, relevance and strength. The ‘level’ of evidence refers to the study design used to minimise bias: the highest level involves a systematic review of randomised controlled clinical trials. ‘Quality’ refers to the methods used to minimise bias in the design and conduct of a study. ‘Relevance’ refers to the extent to which research findings can be applied in other settings. The ‘strength’ of evidence relates to the
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