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Clinical Practice Guidelines and Clinical Pathways: Defining the Tasks and the Implications for Public Sector Mental Health Systems

Current health policy emphasises the need for greater accountability. One response has been a move to develop clinical practice guidelines. These are defined as ‘systematically developed statements to assist practitioner decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances’ [1]. Based upon components of evidence based medicine, suchguidelines aim to ensure best practice. The engagement of participants in the process should lead to the identification of gaps in knowledge and provide further degrees of evidence. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has indicated that ‘the main purpose of guidelines is to achieve better health outcomes by improving the practice of health professionals and by better informing consumers about treatment options. Guidelines can also be used in the broader education of practitioners and the community and can contribute to quality assurance processes. Finally, they may assist in the resolution of legal disputes and ethical dilemmas’ [2].