Clinical guidelines may obviate need for

BMJ 1996;312:706 (16 March)

Letters

Clinical guidelines may obviate need for thought

EDITOR,--Having read Brian Hurwitz's editorial considering thefate of doctors who deviate from clinical guidelines and howthey might fare in court,¹ I thought that the everyday realityof clinical guidelines as seen from the perspective of a seniorhouse officer might be of interest. Clinical guidelines areusually issued by specialist departments as an aid to staff.The number of guidelines gradually proliferates: most hospitalswill have protocols for situations varying from the managementof neutropenia induced by chemotherapy to the indications forwhich a full blood count may be requested by the casualty seniorhouse officer. In almost all cases doctors have the greatestinput into the formulation of these guidelines. So what is thereto fear?

Unfortunately, in everyday practice it is not doctors but juniorradiographers, biochemists who are medical laboratory scientificofficers, or pharmacists who use the guidelines, absolutelyconfident in their knowledge of their . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Clinical guidelines and the law: Brian Hurwitz
BMJ 1995 311: 1517-1518. [Extract] [Full Text]

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