Ensuring Consistent European-Wide Urological Care by the Use of Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines: Can We Do Better?

The European Association of Urology (EAU) annually updates 21 clinical practice guidelines in which summaries of the evidence base and best practice recommendations are made. The methodology applied to achieve this and integrate stakeholder opinion is continuously improving. However, there is evidence to suggest wide variation in clinical practice indicating that many patients receive suboptimal and heterogeneous care. Studies from certain countries suggest that 2 out of 5 patients do not receive care according to the current scientific evidence, and in 1 out of 4 cases the care provided is potentially harmful. Clearly, the harmonisation of care in alignment with evidence-based best practice recommendations is something to strive for. Development of robust methods to disseminate and implement guideline recommendations and measure their impact is an objective the EAU is committed to improving. An important strategy for achieving harmonisation in urological care across Europe is to ensure the availability of high-quality clinical practice guidelines and to actively promote their implementation by clinicians and healthcare providers. © 2017 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel Received: June 8, 2017 Accepted: July 25, 2017 Published online: November 21, 2017 Emma Jane Smith European Association of Urology, Guidelines Office Mr. E.N. van Kleffensstraat 5 NL–6842 Cv Arnhem (The Netherlands) E-Mail e.smith @ uroweb.org www.karger.com/bmh This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) (http://www.karger.com/Services/OpenAccessLicense). Usage and distribution for commercial purposes as well as any distribution of modified material requires written permission. D ow nl oa de d by : U ni ve rs ity o f A be rd ee n13 9. 13 3. 14 8. 27 1 2/ 7/ 20 17 5 :0 9: 13 P M 163 Biomed Hub 2017;2(suppl 1):479725 ( DOI: 10.1159/000479725 ) Smith et al.: Ensuring Consistent European-Wide Urological Care by the Use of Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines: Can We Do Better? www.karger.com/bmh © 2017 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel