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Who is the main audience?
The database of clinical guidelines and audit is intended for the use of healthcare professionals familiar with guideline and audit terminology, but patients, and the public are welcome to use it.
What are clinical guidelines?
Clinical guidelines are "systematically developed statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances". They should "make explicit recommendations with a definite intent to influence what clinicians do". Guidelines are intended to describe the diagnosis and management of a particular condition, and should provide a clear indication of the best choices for the clinical management of the patient. They can also include recommendations on the organisation of services.
For those not familiar with guidelines, we would point out that the recommendations from guidelines are expected to apply to the majority of patients with a particular condition. They are not protocols of care and there will be and should be exceptions that require individualised care outside the guideline recommendations.
What are the criteria for inclusion in the guidelines section of the database?
- All UK national guidelines produced in the previous five years, and relevant to the specialties covered by the Royal College of Physicians of London
- Non-UK guidelines are included only where they are relevant to UK practice - with comments on their provenance
- A few guidelines from earlier years are included, if there is no recent document and if the relevant specialist society has confirmed their continuing relevance.
- Guidelines on performance of, or accreditation for, procedures are included only if they have clear impact on clinical management of a specific condition
What is clinical audit?
Clinical audit is "a quality improvement process that seeks to improve patient care and outcomes through systematic review of care against explicit criteria and the implementation of change. Clinical Audit is all about the quality of care given to patients. It involves asking questions such as:
- Did we give the best available treatment?
- Did we deliver that treatment in the best possible way?
- Did our treatment benefit or harm patients?
What are the criteria for inclusion in the audit section of the database?
- UK based
- An area of interest to the work of physicians
- Includes data collected from more than one site
- Includes clinical audit i.e. not a survey of consultant opinion
- Clear methodology
How do I search the database?
Free text search for words in the title of a document. Use the search box to type in a word or portion of a word (at least two characters) and the database will return all the documents which contain that text in the title.
For further information
For further information please contact clinical.standards@rcplondon.ac.uk