REVIEWS   

Minerva Medicolegale 2014 June;134(2):87-92

Copyright © 2014 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Guidelines and adherence: review of the literature and medico-legal concerns

Massoni F., Ricci L., Ricci P., Ricci S.

Dipartimento di Scienze Anatomiche, Istologiche, Medico Legali e dell’Apparato Locomotore, Università “Sapienza”, Roma, Italia

The Balduzzi’s reform in the field of medical malpractice draws attention to the application of the guidelines as a tool for the evaluation of professional conduct. This paper reviews the international literature on the subject of adherence to the guidelines as a starting point for reflections on the limits and medico-legal reasons that are the basis of little evidence in the literature in this regard. The scientific evidence brought to the reader’s attention is a preamble to the need of implementing the notions of forensic professional accountability with the most recent methodological evidence based medicine findings that will enable to acquire the tools to evaluate the quality guidelines.