Published 23 March 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b1198
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1198

Letters

Turning old age into a disease?

On disobeying NICE guidance

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

I agree with Oliver about guidelines.1 More importantly, so does the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE):

The institute has always indicated that health professionals, when exercising their clinical judgment, should take its guidance fully into account; but that it does not override their responsibility for making appropriate decisions in the circumstances of the individual patient. This principle is important because even the best clinical guideline is unlikely to be able to accommodate more than around 80% of patients for whom it has been developed.2

More recently, however, Baroness Young has reportedly indicated a willingness to prosecute doctors who do not follow NICE guidance. The use of criminal law to enforce guidelines is a remarkable proposal. Other sanctions under consideration include suspension of doctors and closure of their practices.3

Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1198

Peter Gooderham, associate tutor1

1 Cardiff Law School, Cardiff CF10 3AT

GooderhamEP@Cardiff.ac.uk

Competing interests: PG arranged to leave general practice in 2003, the day after voting . . . [Full text of this article]


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