Building Connections Between Guidelines and Quality Improvement
Authors: Helen Burstin, Eric Schneider
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2022)

EditorialsMay 2022Building Connections Between Guidelines and Quality ImprovementHelen Burstin, MD, MPH and Eric Schneider, MD, MScHelen Burstin, MD, MPHCouncil of Medical Specialty Societies, Washington, DC and Eric Schneider, MD, MScCommonwealth Fund, New York, New YorkAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M22-0409 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Clinical practice guidelines have been at the root of efforts to improve clinical care for more than 3 decades. By providing evidence-based recommendations, they are intended to reduce unnecessary variation, increase use of effective treatments, and reduce use of ineffective or harmful interventions. But decades of evidence shows that although making guidelines available to clinicians may reduce uncertainty in clinical decision making, they may not produce timely, measurable improvements in health outcomes. Why haven't clinical guidelines, so fundamental to clinical practice improvement, translated into improvement?Guidelines cannot stand alone. In addition to decision support tools, the logic and recommendations of ...References1. Piggott T, Langendam MW, Parmelli E, et al. Integrating quality assurance and quality improvement with guidelines: systematic stakeholder-driven development of an extension of the Guidelines International Network–McMaster guideline development checklist. Ann Intern Med. 2022;175:735-9. doi:10.7326/M21-3977 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Burstin H, Agrawal S, Qaseem A. Moving to measures that matter and motivate change. Ann Intern Med. 2017;167:442-3. [PMID: 28806792] doi:10.7326/M17-1855 LinkGoogle Scholar3. McGlynn EA, Schneider EC, Kerr EA. Reimagining quality measurement. N Engl J Med. 2014;371:2150-3. [PMID: 25470693] doi:10.1056/NEJMp1407883 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Middleton B, Burton M, Tignanelli CJ, et al. Pandemic Wakes the Learning Health System: How We Developed and Continue Refining COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines. Health Affairs Blog. 21 October 2021. doi:10.1377/forefront.20211019.864563 CrossrefGoogle Scholar5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adapting Clinical Guidelines for the Digital Age. Accessed at www.cdc.gov/csels/phio/clinical-guidelines/index.html on 1 February 2022. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Council of Medical Specialty Societies, Washington, DCCommonwealth Fund, New York, New YorkDisclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M22-0409.Corresponding Author: Helen Burstin, MD, MPH, Council of Medical Specialty Societies, 633 N. Saint Clair Street, Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60611; e-mail, [email protected]org.This article was published at Annals.org on 1 March 2022. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoIntegrating Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement With Guidelines: Systematic Stakeholder-Driven Development of an Extension of the Guidelines International Network–McMaster Guideline Development Checklist Thomas Piggott , Miranda W. Langendam , Elena Parmelli , Jan Adolfsson , Elie A. Akl , David Armstrong , Jeffrey Braithwaite , Romina Brignardello-Petersen , Jan Brozek , Markus Follmann , Ina Kopp , Joerg J. Meerpohl , Luciana Neamtiu , Monika Nothacker , Amir Qaseem , Paolo Giorgi Rossi , Zuleika Saz-Parkinson , Philip J. van der Wees , and Holger J. Schünemann Metrics Cited byDecomposing clinical practice guidelines panels' deliberation into decision theoretical constructsAGA Institute Quality Indicator Development and UsesQuality Indicators for the Diagnosis and Management of Eosinophilic EsophagitisMeasuring Performance of the Diagnostic Process May 2022Volume 175, Issue 5Page: 755-756KeywordsHealth care quality assessmentQuality assuranceQuality improvementTreatment guidelines ePublished: 1 March 2022 Issue Published: May 2022 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2022 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...