Abstract
ABSTRACT
Background: As medical students in a psychiatric department, we experienced a lack of using medical guidelines. Our understanding is that clinical guidelines may be helpful in some clinical settings, and wanted to investigate how to implement clinical guidelines.
Aims: This paper investigates the reasons as to why there is a lack of focus on medical guidelines, why it is hard to implement medical guidelines, which implementing strategies are most efficient, who should be responsible for developing the medical guidelines, and most importantly, if medical guidelines actually do improve the prognosis.
Method: In addition to a thorough literature review, the authors have conducted interviews with two chief physician executives at two very different divisions.
Results: Based on existing theory and the interviews there is a lack of using medical guidelines in the health sector. The literature review theory state that active implementation strategies are most efficient. Furthermore, theory reveals that the group developing the guidelines should consists of people with different specialties and that the group leader should involve every participant in the group. Further, research argue that the use of medical guidelines improve the prognosis of patients
Conclusion: Medical guidelines are not sufficiently utilized, and active implementation strategies should be preferred. The responsibility concerning implementing medical guidelines is held by the group developing the guidelines, the management team, and the clinicians themselves. The group should consist of participants of different expertise areas in order to ensure guidelines of high quality. Finally, the literature concludes that utilizing medical guidelines improve the prognosis.