Doctors involved with guideline development are optimistic the clearinghouse will ease dissemination. The American College of Cardiology, for example, makes guidelines it produces with the American Heart Assn. available through its journals, on the groups' Web sites and through reprints. It now has eight posted in the clearinghouse. This is one more avenue to get guidelines widely disseminated, and anything toward that end is a step in the right direction. He also appreciates that the clearinghouse will allow physicians to compare the ACC's stringently developed guidelines with others that may rest on shakier scientific ground.
Gaps clearly exist.
Officials conceded that developers' copyrights have created hurdles to getting some guidelines on the site. And users still will be required to pay developers to receive full text of certain guidelines. In other areas, guidelines simply don't exist. That will help the agency select topics for its new evidence reports. Those reports are designed to provide the research foundation others can use to devise guidelines, since the agency ditched its own development effort.