The development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines - Integrating medical science and practice

Practice guidelines are rapidly becoming preferred decision-making resource s in medicine, as advances in technology and pharmaceutics continue to expa nd. An evidence-based approach to the development of practice guidelines se rves to anchor healthcare policy to scientific documentation, and in conjun ction with practitioner opinion can provide a powerful and practical clinic al tool. Three sources of information are essential to an evidence-based ap proach: a) an exhaustive literature synthesis; b) meta-analysis; and c) con sensus opinion. The systematic merging of evidence from these sources offer s healthcare providers a scientifically supportable document that is flexib le enough to deal with clinically complex problems. Evidence-based practice guidelines, in conjunction with practice standards and practice advisories , are invaluable resources for clinical decision making. The judicious use of these documents by practitioners will serve to improve the efficiency an d safety of health care well.