Guidelines should be guidelines: time to leave the terms "consensus" and "position" for other purposes

Abstract

Clinical guidelines are “statements that include recommendations, intended to optimize patient care, that are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of alternative care options”. Clinical guidelines are increasingly becoming a part of neurology clinical practice, most probably because they may improve patient clinical outcomes. Methods and strategies intended to increase guideline availability include electronic and computable guidelines integrated into process-oriented information systems with clinical decision support tools. The increased availability and the possibility of continuous update (living guidelines) will likely contribute to promoting compliance with guideline recommendations and to the overarching success of guidelines in improving the quality of care in the near future.