title: Textual guidelines versus computable guidelines: a comparative study in the framework of the PRESGUID project in order to appreciate the impact of guideline format on physician compliance.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The compliance of physicians with the clinical practice guidelines (CPG) is insufficient and needs to be improved.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether standalone computerized CPG within the PRESGUID project could improve compliance with the recommendations than the use of CPG in textual format.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comparative analyses of the responses made by two groups of resident physicians to a set of clinical cases. One group of residents had access to the CPG exclusively in textual format (paper document) while the second group had access to the CPG exclusively in computerized format within the PRESGUID software applications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The computable CPG are more efficient than the paper-based CPG regarding responses in compliance with the recommendations especially those judged to be relevant by an expert.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results should encourage the bodies responsible for diffusing CPG to promote the computable format and to facilitate the computerization process.
authors.affiliation: LERTIM, Faculté de Médecine, Université de la Méditerranée, 27, boulevard Jean Moulin. 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France. jean-charles.dufour@univmed.fr
authors.forename: Jean-Charles
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dufour
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bouvenot
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ambrosi
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fieschi
authors.forename: Marius
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fieschi
mesh_terms: D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008491:Medical Informatics Applications; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D017010:Reminder Systems; D012984:Software; D018511:Systems Integration