Guidelines in general practice: the new Tower of Babel?
- 26 September 1998
- Vol. 317 (7162) , 862-863
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.317.7162.862
Abstract
Editorial by Muir Gray There is anecdotal evidence that general practitioners are being flooded with guidelines. We set out to quantify this by conducting a survey of all guidelines retained in general practices in the Cambridge and Huntingdon Health Authority. FP visited 22 urban and rural general practices, a sample of the 65 practices in the authority, and asked them to produce copies of all guidelines retained for use. Guidelines were defined as any written material used by a doctor or nurse in primary care to assist decision making in relation to health care,1 excluding medical textbooks and electronic databases. We found 855 different guidelines—a pile 68 cm high weighing 28 kg (see fig). There were 243 single page and 195 two page guidelines. There …Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Effect of clinical guidelines on medical practice: a systematic review of rigorous evaluationsPublished by Elsevier ,1993