title: PRO: confronting resistance to rule-based medicine is essential to improving outcomes.
abstract: The past 20 years have seen two great changes in the practice of medicine: the widespread adoption of evidence-based medicine, and the increasing challenge of managing complex multimorbid patients. Both these developments have resulted in clinical rules and protocols becoming ever more abundant and increasingly critical to delivering safe and effective patient care. These evidence-based clinical rules perform at least as well as expert opinion, and the increasing volume and quality of available clinical data suggests their performance could continue to improve. This article considers why clinicians deviate from effective rules, highlighting key issues such as the persisting culture of heroism, institutional inertia, deference to authority and personal heuristics. We argue that better rules can be created, and that clinical improvements will follow if there is a 'common knowledge' of these rules. Furthermore, we argue that there is a ceiling to the effectiveness of any rule, even one as simple as ensuring hand hygiene, unless individuals are held accountable for transgressions.
authors: Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK.
authors: John D
authors: JD
authors: Blakey
authors: Horizon Digital Economy Research, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK Human Factors Research Group, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Brown
authors: Horizon Digital Economy Research, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
authors: James
authors: J
authors: Pinchin
authors: Department of Anaesthetics, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK.
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Barley
authors: Human Factors Research Group, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Sharples
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D015279:Organizational Culture; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012941:Social Responsibility
keywords: Psychology