Stroke guidelines development process needs review but guidelines still not followed
November 21, 2012
Recent criticism of the Clinical Guidelines for Stroke Management in Australia, coordinated and published by the National Stroke Foundation, highlight the need for a new process of guideline development in Australia and better adherence to evidence-based best practice.
The 2010 guidelines, approved by the National Health and Medical Research Council, were referred to as “outdated” in a recent article in the Medical Journal of Australia and subsequently reported by the online industry publication Neurology Update.
National Stroke Foundation chief executive Erin Lalor said according to the NHMRC, guidelines for disease management must be updated every five years to be considered current and 2010 guidelines for stroke fell well within this requirement.
However, Dr Lalor said, the reports highlighted the difficulty in keeping guidelines updated when evidence evolved so rapidly.
She said the guidelines were “not a textbook” but rather were intended as a useful resource and it was imperative clinicians considered latest evidence-based systems of care when treating their patients.
“We would welcome a review of the NHMRC process for guideline development in Australia to allow recommendations to reflect current evidence faster,” Dr Lalor said.
But Dr Lalor said it remained a problem that stroke services were still not being delivered according to evidence-based care, a fact that was apparent in a series of audits conducted by the Stroke Foundation.
“Since 2007 we have undertaken a series of audits that have involved more than 17,500 patients and what we have found is consistently substandard access to recommended levels of services, treatment and care for stroke patients,” Dr Lalor said.
“This gap in stroke services was a key focus of the Call to Action recently released by consumers in Canberra and the basis of our work to advocate for improved stroke services in Australia.
“It is unacceptable that we do not adequately invest in stroke when it is the second biggest killer of Australians and a major cause of disability.”
The 2010 guidelines, approved by the National Health and Medical Research Council, were referred to as “outdated” in a recent article in the Medical Journal of Australia and subsequently reported by the online industry publication Neurology Update.
National Stroke Foundation chief executive Erin Lalor said according to the NHMRC, guidelines for disease management must be updated every five years to be considered current and 2010 guidelines for stroke fell well within this requirement.
However, Dr Lalor said, the reports highlighted the difficulty in keeping guidelines updated when evidence evolved so rapidly.
She said the guidelines were “not a textbook” but rather were intended as a useful resource and it was imperative clinicians considered latest evidence-based systems of care when treating their patients.
“We would welcome a review of the NHMRC process for guideline development in Australia to allow recommendations to reflect current evidence faster,” Dr Lalor said.
But Dr Lalor said it remained a problem that stroke services were still not being delivered according to evidence-based care, a fact that was apparent in a series of audits conducted by the Stroke Foundation.
“Since 2007 we have undertaken a series of audits that have involved more than 17,500 patients and what we have found is consistently substandard access to recommended levels of services, treatment and care for stroke patients,” Dr Lalor said.
“This gap in stroke services was a key focus of the Call to Action recently released by consumers in Canberra and the basis of our work to advocate for improved stroke services in Australia.
“It is unacceptable that we do not adequately invest in stroke when it is the second biggest killer of Australians and a major cause of disability.”