Multi-disciplinary guideline development: a case study from community pharmacy

Abstract

There is increasing interest in the role of clinical guidelines to encourage appropriate care. However, if guidelines are to achieve this, they need to be scientifically valid in the sense that, when followed, they lead to the health gains projected from them. Multi-disciplinary involvement in guideline development is desirable and is likely to promote validity. However, there are difficulties inherent in multidisciplinary guideline development relating to professional hierarchies and mutual ignorance of different professionals' skills and modus operandi which have not previously been addressed in the literature. In this paper, we describe in detail the processes involved in the multidisciplinary development of guidelines for community pharmacy management of dyspepsia and discuss the practical issues and problems encountered.