Clinical Practice Guidelines 1995

Abstract

American College of Physicians, pounds sterling48 ISSN 1066 677X One day soon medical sociologists will discover that the clinical guidelines industry is a microcosm of medicine worthy of close study. When guidelines are being developed bloody struggles are waged over medical knowledge, all protagonists claim that “evidence” supports their views, and final recommendations always require fine judgments and compromise. This collection of American guidelines with the imprimatur of the American College of Physicians makes visible some of the struggles and compromises. Each of the guidelines is backed up by a review of the evidence commissioned by the college's …