Abstract
Practice guidelines are systematically developed statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances. The implementation of practice guidelines is justified by factors such as variations in clinical practice, malpractice and its associated costs, and the need to contain health care expenditures. In this context, practice guidelines promote a more rational approach to clinical decision making and better quality of care. Although there are several limitations to the use of guidelines in current practice, different organizations (professional societies, government agencies, licensing authorities, educational institutions) have a potential interest in their development. A working group on the development of practice guidelines endorsed by the Italian Society of Neurology has been active since 1995. The aims of this group include the development of guidelines to be accepted by the medical community and to be placed within the framework of initiatives of the Italian Ministry of Health.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Audet AM, Greenfield S, Field M (1990) Medical practice guidelines: Current activities and future directions. Ann Intern Med 113:709–714
Pocock SJ (1983) Clinical trials: A practical approach. Wiley, Chichester
Wardlaw JM, Warlow CP (1992) Thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke. Does it work? Stroke 23:1826–1839
Wardlaw JM, Yamasuchi T, del Zoppo G, Hocke W (1995) Thrombolysis in ischemic stroke. In: Cochrane Library (Database on Disk and CD-ROM). The Cochrane Collaboration. Oxford: Update Software, issue n. 1. BMJ Publishing
Bensimon G, Lacomblez L, Meininger V and the ALS/Riluzole study group (1994) A controlled trial of riluzole in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. N Eng J Med 330:585–591
Lacomblez L, Bensimon G, Leigh PN, Guillet P, Meininger V, for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Study Group-II (1996) Dose ranging study of riluzole in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Lancet 347:1425–1431
Tonini C, Beghi E (1997) Prognosis following epilepsy surgery: A literature review. Neurology Internat Rev 2:1–5
Beghi E, Antozzi C, Batocchi AP, Comelio F, Cosi V, Evoli A, Lombardi M, Mantegazza R, Monticelli ML, Piccolo G, Tonali P, Trevisan D, Zarrelli M (1993) Prognosis of myasthenia gravis: A multicenter follow-up study of 844 patients. J Neurol Sci 106:213–220
Chassin MR, Kosecoff J, Park RE, et al (1987) Does inappropriate use explain geographic variations in the use of health care services? A study of three procedures. JAMA 258:2533–2537
Temkin NR, Dikmen SS, Wilensky AJ, Keihm J, Chabal S, Winn HR (1990) A randomized double-blind study of phenytoin for the prevention of post-traumatic seizures. N Eng J Med 323:497–502
Foy PM, Chadwick DW, Rajgopalan N, Johnson AL, Shaw MDM (1992) Do prophylactic anticonvulsant drugs alter the pattern of seizures after craniotomy? J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 55:753–757
Garattini S, Bazzini L (1997) CUF e mercato dei farmaci: Un bilancio dopo 3 anni. Agenzia Sanitaria Italiana 29:28–45
Effective Health Care (1994) Implementing clinical practice guidelines: Can guidelines be used to improve clinical practice? University of Leeds, Leeds
Bero L, Freemantle N, Grilli R, Grimshaw J, Harvey E, Oxman A (1995) The Cochrane collaboration on effective professional practice (CCEPP) module. In: Cochrane Library (Database on Disk and CD-ROM). The Cochrane Collaboration. Oxford: Update Software, issue n. 1. BMJ Publishing
American Academy of Neurology Quality Standards Subcommittee (1993) Practice parameters: Initial therapy of Parkinson’s disease. Neurology 43:1296–1297
Greer AL (1988) The state of the art versus the state of the science: The diffusion of new medical technologies into practice. Int J Technol Assess Health Care 4:5–26
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Beghi, E., Citterio, A., Cornelio, F. et al. Practice guidelines: a more rational approach to diagnosis and treatment and a more effective use of health care resources. Ital J Neuro Sci 19, 120–123 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02427570
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02427570