E-DRUG: Information on clinical guidelines (2)
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The rationale for guidelines could be explained as follows:
Patients need to be able to rely on their doctor or pharmacist to be an
honest and informed broker of the best possible advice about drugs being
prescribed. They want to be assured that the drug selected for them is
effective and safe.
Every month medical research generates tens of thousands of articles
describing clinical trials so it is impossible for busy doctors,
pharmacists, or any other health professional to keep up to date with
this information, let alone having the time and skills to aggregate and
interpret it.
Australian health professionals and their patients are fortunate. They
can rely on the information generated by Therapeutic Guidelines Limited
(TGL), an independent not-for-profit organisation that exists
specifically to provide health professionals with independent and
credible guidance on which drugs should be prescribed for which
indications.
The texts produced, Therapeutic Guidelines, provide clear concise
independent and evidence-based recommendations for patient management
that have been developed by Australia's leading experts. These experts,
with their many years of clinical experience work with skilled medical
editors to sift and sort through research data, systematic reviews,
local protocols and other sources of information, to ensure that the
clear and practical recommendations that are developed are based on the
best available evidence.
The experts volunteer to participate in TGL writing groups because they
recognise the critical need for independent information. The combination
of the best of Australia's clinical experts combined with high quality
evidence and a robust process makes Therapeutic Guidelines unique -
trusted guidance that is totally independent of both the pharmaceutical
industry and government.
Best wishes,
Mary
Mary Hemming
Chief Executive Officer
Therapeutic Guidelines Ltd
Ground Floor, 23-47 Villiers Street,
North Melbourne VIC 3051 Australia
T: +61 3 9326 6324
F: +61 3 9326 5632
E: mhemming@tg.com.au
For more information about Therapeutic Guidelines, visit our website at
http://www.tg.com.au
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Mary Hemming wrote:
The rationale for guidelines could be explained as follows:
Well said!
Cheers
Ken
--
Dr. Ken Harvey
Adjunct Senior Research Fellow
School of Public Health, La Trobe University
http://www.medreach.com.au
VOIP: 03 9029 0634; Mobile 04 1918 1910
E-DRUG: Information on clinical guidelines (6)
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I would also add that in situations where qualified health care staff are
very scarce and a lot is done by junior staff, clinical guidelines provide a reassurance that the correct thing will be done.
Cheers.
Eva Ombaka
Coordinator
Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network
P. O. Box 73860-00200
Nairobi, Kenya.
Tel: 254-20-4444832/ 4445020
Fax: 254-20-4441090
Email: eombaka@epnetwork.org
Website: www.epnetwork.org
E-DRUG: Information on clinical guidelines (7)
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It's important to have well-informed and trained health workers, but
let's not forget that consumers also have the right to good quality,
accessible and accurate information. People in the community are
reassured by knowing that there are standard, approved guidelines for
health workers to adhere to and refer to for guidance. But what they
also need are people who can bridge that gap between medical terminology
and 'what everybody should know'.
Those of us who are engaged in developing accessible information and
education materials for the use of patients, carers and community based
health workers are also very reliant on standard guidelines, both
international and national, to ensure the right focus and correct
information in our materials.
Without standard guidelines, our job of converting technical guidance
into plain language information would be much more confusing and very
difficult. This would apply whether it is medicines or medical
technologies we are talking about - the guidelines give us an ideal
place to start from and are invaluable.
Carolyn Green
Senior Technical Advisor: Training
International HIV/AIDS Alliance
cgreen@aidsalliance.org
E-DRUG: Information on clinical guidelines (8)
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I agree with you Eva, in our healthcare environmental settings, most of
the work is done by 'designated' medical staff who needs to be well
guided in handling people's lives.
Bakari A. Bakari
MPH Leadership 2008-09 Student (Distance Learning)
North Carolina University at Chapel Hill, NC.
Information Systems Manager
Medical Stores Department, Ministry of Health
P.O. Box 9081, Dar es Salaam, TANZANIA
Tel:+255 22 2860890-7
Fax: +255 22 2865814/19
Cell: +255 754 461850
URL: www.msd.or.tz