Adopting and adapting clinical guidelines for local use

Abstract

Key content Clinical guidelines help to standardise and improve patient care. Development of a valid clinical guideline requires resources and skills. Local adaptation of a national guideline provides a cost‐effective approach to guideline introduction. A formal consensus process allows local stakeholders to adapt a national guideline. The adapted guideline combines the rigour of national development with the acceptability engendered by local consensus. Learning objectives To gain an overview of the fundamental principles of clinical guideline development. To learn how to adapt national guidelines for use by local NHS organisations or by groups of clinicians in non‐UK settings. Ethical issues Guideline introduction diverts scarce resources from direct clinical care. Evidence indicates that guidelines result in only modest to moderate improvements in patient outcomes. Clinicians wishing to introduce clinical guidelines should adopt an approach that minimises resource use. Please cite this article as: Penney GC. Adopting and adapting clinical guidelines for local use. The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 2007;9:48–52.