As defined by the Institute of Medicine, clinical guidelines are
“systematically developed statements to assist practitioner and
patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical
circumstances. Guidelines, protocols, and care pathways developed
by professional societies and other groups are common in American
hospitals and health plans, where they are used for quality
improvement and cost control. Although some evidence based
guidelines produced by government panels and medical societies
have received prominent attention, many healthcare organizations
purchase commercially produced guidelines that emphasize
shortened lengths of stay and other resource savings. Guidelines
produced by governments or payers to control spiraling costs may
constitute responsible public policy but may be resented by clinicians
and patients as an invasion of personal autonomy.(Woolf, 1999.”)
According to the American college of Physicians, “Medical practice
should reflect current scientific evidence and medical knowledge,
which may evolve over time. Physicians should be guided by
evidence-based clinical guidelines that allow flexibility to adapt to
individual patient circumstances. Statutory and regulatory standards
of care may become “set in concrete” and not reflect the latest
evidence and applicable medical knowledge.”
In conclusion, governments roles should be limited in placing
guidelines if based on cost efficiency. Instead guidelines should be
based on scientific evidence and research. I believe individual
healthcare systems should implement their own guidelines as it
keeps the patients interest in the highest regards. It ensures that high
quality healthcare is provided vs cutting cost in healthcare delivery.
Each guideline needs flexibility in regards to each patients individual
circumstances. The views on how government should be involved
differs between one group to another in that certain specialist may
find that guidelines are one sided and biased and place too much
rigidity on how healthcare delivery is approached.
References
American College of Physicians, July 2012. Statement of Principles
on the Role of Governments in Regulating the Patient-Physician
Relationship. https://www.acponline.org/system/files/documents/ad
vocacy/current_policy_papers/assets/sop_issue_brief.pdf
Woolf, S. H., Grol, R., Hutchinson, A., Eccles, M.,
& Grimshaw, J. (1999). Clinical guidelines:
potential benefits, limitations, and harms of
clinical guidelines. BMJ (Clinical research
ed.), 318(7182), 527–
530. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.318.7182.527
