Clinical Guidelines

Clinical guidelines

Introduction

The use of guidelines for clinical practice is the main objective of establishing good practice in health care. These guidelines provide criteria and evidence-based parameters that allow accompany the quality of medical care, ensuring more relevance and effectiveness. Develop clinical protocols based on national guidelines facilitates the implementation process and ensures the quality of care. Thus, the identification of patterns of resource consumption - using daily rates, the advantages, tests, materials and medicine - according to the diagnosis facilitate the development of protocols and ensure a more reliable process of standardization and anticipated costs.

Discussion

The implementation of clinical guidelines and protocols in a health institution requires an extensive process of discussion and understanding involving all the professionals working there. According to the development phase of the clinical records of an institution can be more or less easily retrieve the information essential to this process of discussion. Establishing clinical performance indicators linked to the protocols accompanying this type of investment and facilitates adherence to accompany new practices implemented. ST Consult has expertise in feasibility analysis, and interpretation of data collection, training and implementation of clinical protocols.

Cost effectiveness

Surprisingly little consideration has been given to the role of guidelines in a healthcare system in which resources are constrained. Cholesterol lowering drugs epitomize the problems that affect clinical guidelines in many areas. We consider here some unintended consequences from the development of guidelines (whether regulatory or supposedly advisory) that arise for those funding health care, doctors, and patients.

Globally, an estimated 300 million people have asthma, presenting a considerable and increasing burden of disease to healthcare systems, families, and patients. Despite two decades of asthma guidelines, asthma remains poorly controlled in a substantial proportion of people. Structured asthma management which in the United Kingdom is predominantly delivered in primary care can improve outcomes in terms of exacerbations, admissions to hospital, and days lost from school and work. The concept of supported self management, engaging both clinicians and patients in delivering and implementing regular monitoring of control and adjustment of treatment, is a key recommendation of national and international guidelines. The theoretical model developed by Glasziou and colleagues, using asthma as an exemplar, describes the complementary and evolving roles of periodic support from professionals and ongoing self monitoring by patients. Our recent qualitative study suggests that people with asthma perceive a role for mobile technology in aiding transition from clinician supported phases while control is gained to effective self management during maintenance phases.

Poor adherence to monitoring and drugs is a potentially modifiable factor associated with poor control. In contrast with paper diary monitoring, in which as few as 6% of readings might be recorded, trials with electronic recording devices have shown rates of compliance of over 60%, especially if the patient is aware that their health behavior is being observed. Timely feedback of results to the patient can objectively show severity of symptoms and the impact of compliance with drug treatment. Mobile phones, the most pervasive and accessible form of technology globally, ...