Dutch GPs selected 30 recommendations from this questionnaire that they consider relevant for their practice. An article about this was published today in BMC Primary Care.
This list contains 12 recommendations on drug treatments, 10 on diagnostics, 5 on referrals to other health care providers and 3 on treatment without drugs. Examples are ‘Do not give antibiotics to children with an acute ear infection, ‘Avoid the chronic use of antacids without indication’ and ‘Be careful with imaging tests in patients with non-traumatic knee complaints’.
Commitment to appropriate care
In recent months, a great deal of attention has been paid to reducing inappropriate care, partly because the coalition agreement is strongly committed to appropriate care. Recently, Minister Kuipers argued in favor of using better-do-not-do lists to further stimulate appropriate care. Better don’ts recommendations in health care guidelines are a first step in reducing inappropriate care. This is substantiated by research that it has no added value or can potentially cause damage.
Awareness of inappropriate care
The selection of 30 recommendations not to do so provides insight into care where general practitioners consider it important to exercise restraint. The list makes general practitioners and patients aware of inappropriate care and indicates where patients can be better informed about appropriate care. The list can also be used to map the volume of inappropriate care and to reduce the pressure on care. This insight is necessary to know which inappropriate care should be reduced first in order to free up space for more appropriate care.
By: National Care Guide