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Disseminating and implementing guidelines: how feasible is it?

Paula Whitty (NHS Trust Clinical Governance Lead and also a Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.)
Ruth Thomas (Wellcome Training Fellow in Health Services Research, Health Services Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.)
Jeremy Grimshaw (Director of the Clinical Epidemiology Program, Institute of Population Health, Ottawa Health Research Institute and Center for Best Practices, University of Ottawa, Canada and also Co‐ordinating Editor of the Cochrane Effective Professional and Organisational Change (EPOC) Group.)

Clinical Governance: An International Journal

ISSN: 1477-7274

Article publication date: 1 March 2004

782

Abstract

Discusses the feasibility of disseminating and implementing guidelines in routine practice, informed by discussions with senior actors in the field of guidelines implementation. Comments about the lack of protected budgets to support guideline dissemination and implementation strategies and common strategies of using “soft money” or resources for specific initiatives to support such activities. The “opportunity costs” of strategies need to be considered. In addition there are implications for the implementation of the NHS information strategy. For clinical governance as a whole, not only is it likely that widespread cultural change is required, but also the capacity of the system still needs considerable expansion if sufficient educational activities are to become routine.

Keywords

Citation

Whitty, P., Thomas, R. and Grimshaw, J. (2004), "Disseminating and implementing guidelines: how feasible is it?", Clinical Governance: An International Journal, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 8-10. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777270410517665

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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