Part Four - Taking action: essential steps for success
Chapter One: Providing a unifying framework - the role of government
Health services organization and delivery
As Part Three demonstrated, reorientation of health services away from the traditional focus on acute health care, as well as a shift in budget allocation, are needed in many countries to respond adequately to chronic disease prevention and control.
Promote the use of evidence-based guidelines
The introduction of integrated, evidence-based guidelines is one important method for promoting evidence-based care. Treatment guidelines should be approved at the national level, endorsed by local professional societies, and tailored to fit local contexts and resource constraints. Guidelines should be incorporated into assessment tools, patient registries and flowsheets in order to increase the likelihood of their use.
Implementation step and suggested milestones
STEP 1 CORE: A standard set of integrated clinical management guidelines is drafted and adopted at national level for implementation.
STEP 2 EXPANDED: Clinical guidelines are integrated into everyday tools, for example visual prompts and chart reminders to help health care workers remember to provide evidence-based care.
STEP 3 DESIRABLE: Ongoing monitoring and feedback regarding the implementation of clinical guidelines is provided at national, local, health centre, and individual health care provider levels.