Clinical Practice Guidelines: Principles for Clinical Practice

S5 print and electronic media where they come across lay guidelines; doctors need to inform the patients regarding available treatment alternatives, their potential harms and benefits, where clinical guidelines work as the best available educative tool. CPGs highlight gaps in known literature where treatment recommendations are not clear cut; hence it helps in identifying areas where future research should be focused. Guidelines often act as one of the reference points in audits of clinicians and hospitals for rating them with best care practices.5 It is easier for insurance companies to pay for standardized treatment practices; public perception is likely to improve if a health care facility adheres to CPGs and publicizes the same. It is likely that economic advantages of following CPGs is one of the main reasons for their popularity.6