Medicolegal Sidebar: Clinical Practice Guidelines-Do They Reduce Professional Liability Risk?

Abstract

Clinical practice guidelines represent prima facie authority (meaning, that which is presumed correct unless proven otherwise) such that diligent adherence to practice guidelines should reduce the risk of malpractice litigation. In practice, however, this is not always the case. While guidelines can sometimes be introduced as a defense by an accused physician, injured patients can just as well use them to allege a breach of the standard of care. Given the limitations and shortcomings associated with clinical practice guidelines— including obsolescence, conflicts of interest, and inconsistencies with the standard of care—we believe that clinical practice guidelines should not be admissible as evidence in medical malpractice litigation.