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The National Quality of Care Forum zeroes in on guidelines and the challenges of implementation in part two of a three-year collaboration between the American Hospital Association and the Parke-Davis Division of the Warner-Lambert Company. Two overviews of the literature and two first-hand reports of experience "bridge the gap" for health care professionals.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
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A five year retrospective casenote review was undertaken of 452 patients attending 11 different general practice diabetic clinics, and 506 patients attending a diabetic clinic at hospital A and 210 patients attending a diabetic clinic at hospital B. The populations attending the clinics, the degree of glycaemic control achieved and the monitoring for the development of diabetic complications were investigated. Insulin dependent patients comprised 57.9% of patients attending the diabetic clinic at hospital A, 35.7% at hospital B and 25.0% of patients attending the diabetic clinics at general practices. Of these 55.6%, 37.3% and 30.1% respectively received multiple daily insulin injections. Hospital A had a higher proportion of patients under 40 years old than hospital B or the general practice clinics. The ages of diabetic patients attending the general practice diabetic clinics were broadly similar to those attending hospital B. Significantly more general practice patients, both insulin and non-insulin dependent, had a mean blood glucose level of less than 11 mmol l-1 compared with patients attending clinics at hospitals A and B (P < 0.001). Glycosylated haemoglobin levels did not differ between patients attending hospital A and the general practice clinics. More non-insulin dependent and insulin dependent diabetic patients attending the general practice clinics and hospital A had been monitored satisfactorily for diabetic retinopathy (general practice clinic 68.8% and 39.7% respectively, hospital A 61.7% and 43.5%) than at hospital B (43.0% and 19.4%). Referral rates among all groups for ophthalmological assessment were similar.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are evidence-based recommendations for best practice and have been developed with the assumption they will be embraced by practitioners; a further assumption is that clinical practice guidelines will improve the delivery of care. In this article, we provide a working definition of evidence-based practice, discuss the strengths and limitations of CPGs, describe the implementation of CPGs in the context of urinary incontinence, and consider the steps that the WOCN has taken to initiate evidence-based practice. Current issues are presented along with initiatives that have resulted in clinical practice guidelines on incontinence from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. On the basis of the current literature, it is concluded that clinical practice guidelines can play an important role in WOCN practice and that the implementation of guidelines may improve clinical practice. However, guidelines are only as valid as the evidence on which they are based and may not take into account gender or cultural differences or the effect that comorbid conditions can have on treatment outcomes. Finally, guidelines must follow a comprehensive approach that involves management and staff and includes education, facilitation, evaluation, feedback, and an understanding of change strategies.
Evidence-based medicine is a process by which clinicians translate clinical information needs into answerable questions, track down answers to those needs as efficiently and effectively as possible using the best evidence available, apply the information to patients and evaluate their performance. Implementing evidence-based medicine is fragmented and variable. The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia has implemented a research program to determine successful strategies for implementation and sustaining of evidence-based clinical practice. In addition this research program will help to answer whether evidence-based practice improves patient outcomes. This paper describes this program and other strategies that improve the application of evidence-based practice in clinical settings.
BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown a high incidence of postoperative residual curarization (PORC). The reason for this is unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the methods used by Danish anaesthetists to exclude PORC are evidence-based and, if they are not, to determine the reasons why. METHODS: 251 anaesthetists (nurses and physicians) from eight different hospital anaesthetic departments completed a questionnaire concerning their knowledge about and clinical practice of residual curarization. RESULTS: All of the 251 participants filled in the questionnaire. 91% underestimated the incidence of PORC after the administration of intermediate-acting muscle relaxants, and 27% incorrectly believed that it is always possible to exclude PORC using clinical tests. Only 45% knew that the train-of-four ratio must exceed 0.9 to exclude residual curarization, and only 25% knew that clinically significant residual curarization cannot be excluded by tactile/visual evaluation of the response to train-of-four nerve stimulation. 91% had access to a nerve stimulator, 85% with the option of objective monitoring. 13% used a nerve stimulator seldom or never. The overall attitude toward using nerve stimulators was positive. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that Danish anaesthetists" clinical practice regarding residual curarization is often not evidence-based. The reason for this seems to be a lack of knowledge, rather than lack of resources and/or a negative attitude toward neuromuscular monitoring.
OBJECTIVES: To compare the quality of care provided to diabetic hypertensive patients by diabetic clinics versus general practice clinics (GP-clinics) in a primary care setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of medical records of patients from six primary care centres in Bahrain. RESULTS: The recommended target blood pressure <130/85 mmHg was achieved in 6.8 and 10%, and glycated haemoglobin <7% was attained in 14.8 and 11% of patients attending diabetic clinics (n=177) and GP-clinics (n=180), respectively. Although complementary antihypertensive combinations were prescribed at a rate less than that recommended in guidelines, combinations were significantly more often prescribed for patients attending the GP-clinics (46.7% [95% CI 39.4-53.9] versus 33.4% [CI 26.8-40.6]; p=0.01). The prescribing pattern and rank-order of antihypertensive and oral hypoglycaemic agents prescribed, either as monotherapy or in combinations, were similar in both clinics. The majority of diabetic hypertensive patients attending diabetic clinics or GP-clinics were at high cardiovascular risk. Anthropometric characteristics were recorded consistently in patients attending diabetic clinics. Laboratory investigations were extensively utilized for monitoring patients attending diabetic clinics. CONCLUSIONS: In primary care, in both diabetic clinics and GP-clinics, hypertension and diabetes were inadequately controlled, with no difference between the two settings. An integrated approach involving diabetic clinics managed by primary care physicians and nurses trained in diabetes management, and supported by national guidelines, is needed.
Clinical practice guidelines are intended to improve the quality of clinical care by reducing inappropriate variations, producing optimal outcomes for patients, minimizing harm, and promoting cost-effective practices. This statement proposes an explicit classification of recommendations for clinical practice guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to promote communication among guideline developers, implementers, and other users of guideline knowledge, to improve consistency, and to facilitate user understanding. The statement describes 3 sequential activities in developing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and related policies: 1) determination of the aggregate evidence quality in support of a proposed recommendation; 2) evaluation of the anticipated balance between benefits and harms when the recommendation is carried out; and 3) designation of recommendation strength. An individual policy can be reported as a "strong recommendation," "recommendation," "option," or "no recommendation." Use of this classification is intended to improve consistency and increase the transparency of the guideline-development process, facilitate understanding of AAP clinical practice guidelines, and enhance both the utility and credibility of AAP clinical practice guidelines.
Clinical practice guidelines can potentially lead to reductions in healthcare costs and improved patient outcomes if adopted by physicians into their clinical practice. This research study provides data that gives healthcare administrators a basic understanding of how physicians perceive clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and gives practical suggestions to obtain physician adherence to CPGs.