The Role of Guidelines in Stroke

Clinical practice guidelines have been developed to improve patient outcomes, reduce variability in care, and decrease health care expenditures by providing an organized framework to diagnosis and treatment. Numerous guidelines have been published about different aspects of stroke care. The application of guidelines to the “real world” situation of the individual patient has often been less successful, however. The rationale for guidelines, as they pertain to cerebrovascular disease, are reviewed as well as some of the barriers to guideline implementation.