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Practice guidelines: a limited role in resolving rationing decisions
Author(s)David Orentlicher
Journal titleJournal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol 46, no 3, March 1998
Pagespp 369-372
KeywordsMedical care ; Grant allocation ; Health services ; Commercial care ; Social ethics ; Standards of provision ; United States of America.
AnnotationAlthough practice guidelines can contribute significantly to improve the quality of health care, the author believes that it is important not to overstate their potential in helping to resolve questions about healthcare coverage under managed care in the US. Practice guidelines are not the neutral or objective arbiter of rationing decisions, nor can they necessarily provide clear guidance for more than a small percentage of medical decisions. Drafters and users of practice guidelines need to be open about the extent to which practice guidelines incorporate value judgements about the weighing of benefits and risks, and about weighing of risks and financial costs. The author's premise is that there is nothing wrong with economic judgements, which must be made; what is wrong, is hiding the fact that they are being made. (RH).
Accession NumberCPA-980821012 A
ClassmarkLK: QCG: L: PI: TQ: 583: 7T

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