EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE - GUIDELINES AS T HREAT OR NECESSITY FOR PHYSICIAN AND PATIENT

Guidelines derived from 'evidence-based medicine' are supposed to prov ide assistance and information in order to improve diagnosis and thera py of individual patients and build up confidence in medical decisions . Guidelines possess no direct legal power. The doctor's freedom of de cision must be warranted. Inadequate guidelines may have serious conse quences: curtailment of therapeutic freedom, hampering of medical prog ress, deterioration of the relationship between doctors and their pati ents, risk of legal implementation and emergence of a defensive medici ne.