The increased interest in clinical practice guidelines in Australia has been part of an international recognition that health care development has been a somewhat random process. In many ways, clinical practice guidelines serve analogous purposes to codes of ethics - they articulate values and what is broadly appropriate in particular clinical circumstances, they exclude actions which are clearly inappropriate and they educate providers and consumers about what to expect.
Guidelines serve other needs as well.
On the consumer side, they can be seen as an important tool in the newly emerging partnership relationship between consumers and health care providers. There is increasing awareness among health care consumers about the variable consequences of some health care procedures. People in the community are more likely to want to know what their options are, than perhaps once was the case. Guidelines can meet many of these needs for consumers and providers. Where guidelines are not developed in such a fashion, there can be many problems, and they are unlikely to live up to the potential benefits identified.