How health systems can benefit from standardized clinical guidelines

Clinical guidelines are always evolving

It’s also helpful to have customized guidelines based on organizational, local, or national requirements. At a regional level, the European Union provides clinical efficacy and safety guidelines on a number of clinical and medication areas. In Brazil, health systems are looking to integrate the national clinical practice guidelines into workflows to help standardize and distribute best practices across all public hospital systems. Adding country- or region-specific guidelines on top of wider best practices can help provide additional context and more nuanced guidance for care teams.

Additionally, as research changes, the guidelines and recommendations may need to be updated. Care teams need to feel confident that the information they have is based on the latest available evidence. It’s crucial to identify the right integrated solutions that proactively update recommendations as new evidence emerges.

Personalized care when needed

Clinical guidelines are important to create baseline standards across hospital systems, but they should also allow for personalized nuances and care decisions when needed. Clinicians need flexibility to accommodate a patient’s personal preferences and relevant social drivers, supported by evidence.

This is also important when the evidence is unclear. Clinicians need guidelines that can provide support and direction in the most complex care scenarios and allow them to use their knowledge and experience in determining the next course of action.

Empowering health system administrators

Having clinical guidelines in workflows can also be part of a digital transformation strategy for clinical leaders. A Deloitte survey of health leaders across six countries showed that 72% of respondents plan to invest in digital platforms and services in 2025.

When clinical content is embedded within workflows, leaders can feel more confident that their care teams have recommendations based on the best available evidence. This can help improve standardized care, which in turn can help reduce costs and improve outcomes.

For clinical leaders, having guidelines in workflows also provides insights into commonly viewed health topics and opportunities for continuing education and training for care teams. These insights can help shape institutional protocols and improve clinical workflows.

Access clinical guidelines from practicing experts

Clinical teams need to feel confident in the information they’re reviewing for patient care. For over three decades, clinicians around the world have trusted the expert clinical content and recommendations from UpToDate®.

UpToDate provides over 100 pre-loaded clinical guidelines covering a wide range of specialties – from oncology to pediatrics. These guidelines offer actionable insights and recommendations backed by rigorous analysis of clinical research, curated and authored by over 7,600 editors and practicing clinicians. As new evidence emerges, the editorial team reviews and updates the guidelines and recommendations. The platform can also integrate additional clinical guidelines based on organizational or governmental standards.

With UpToDate, healthcare professionals can quickly find trusted answers, enabling them to make decisions with greater confidence. This means less time spent searching for information and more time focused on what matters most – patients.

Over 3 million clinicians worldwide trust UpToDate for evidence-based answers, even when the guidance is unclear. Learn more about equipping your care teams with standardized clinical guidelines.