[Treatment recommendations from the Drug Commission of the German Medical Association].
The clinical practice guidelines of the Drug Commission of the German Medical Association (DCGMA) are intended to provide a solid basis of therapeutic rationality. Being evidence-based and practice-orientated, these guidelines are not supposed to restrict or replace independent and responsible action. The DCGMA board selects the topics with their importance to general practice being a relevant criterion. A multidisciplinary working group comprising DCGMA experts that have no conflict of interest with the pharmaceutical industry is then established. A panel of office-based physicians is involved in the process of establishing consensus. Once the paper is accepted, the respective professional societies are consulted. Finally, the guideline is released by the DCGMA board and distributed via different publications and educational events. DCGMA clinical practice guidelines are developed in consideration of the best available evidence; however, for many questions of pharmacological treatment the evidence remains fragmentary. In addition, there are many points where the results of clinical research, currently often funded by pharmaceutical companies, might not be unbiased.
Schott
Gisela
G
Arzneimittelkommission der deutschen Arzteschaft, Berlin.
Lasek
Rainer
R
Wolf-Dieter
Ludwig
L
D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000592:standards / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000592:standards*; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000592:standards; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012955:Societies, Medical
D000928:Antidepressive Agents