title: Clinical practice guidelines: policy issues and legal implications.
abstract: The growing interest in clinical practice guidelines is raising a number of complex legal questions that have yet to be widely examined. Could physicians be held liable if they disregard good medical judgement in favor of following cost containment guidelines? To what extent should developers and implementers of guidelines be granted civil immunity from liability? How will judges respond to guidelines as evidence, and how will they react when various guidelines conflict?
authors.affiliation: Association of Academic Health Centers, Washington, DC 20036.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Merz
mesh_terms: D003363:Cost Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D015276:Health Care Rationing / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006291:Health Policy / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D016365:Liability, Legal; D008318:Malpractice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013675:Technology, High-Cost / Q000191:economics; D014481:United States