Attitudes and barriers to clinical practice guidelines in general and to the guideline on Parkinson’s disease. A National Survey of German neurologists in private practice

Although much progress has been made in the development of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), there are few strategies for dissemination and implementation of these guidelines. This study examines the attitudes of neurologists to CPGs and barriers to CPG implementation, with a particular focus on the Parkinson’s disease CPG (PD-CPG). A cross-sectional survey was performed in 2007 with a representative sample of 213 neurologists in private practice in Germany. The main outcome measures were the Tunis Attitudinal Scale and barrier assessment of CPGs. In addition, the awareness, applicability, and usefulness of the PD-CPG were assessed. Most of the neurologists agreed that CPGs are intended to improve the quality of care (82.2%; n = 171), are good educational tools (59.4%; n = 120), and are an unbiased synthesis of expert opinion (58.9%; n = 119). The main barriers to guideline implementation were lack of time (39.3%; n = 81), inability to reconcile patient preferences with guideline recommendations (34.3%; n = 71), and lack of awareness (32.5%; n = 67). A total of 187 (88.2%) of the neurologists were aware of the PD-CPG, of whom 163 (92.6%) found it “beneficial” and 173 (94.6%) applied it in daily practice. Nevertheless, only 51 (28.8%) of neurologists considered that the guidelines led to an improvement in the quality of care. However, 63 (32%) favored a special guideline for patients. Qualitative data analysis revealed more positive than negative aspects of the PD-CPG; positive comments included “treatment facilitation”, “a stepped therapy schema” and “increasing self-efficacy”. Criticism mostly concerned the lack of relevance to everyday practice and the rigidity of the guidelines. Neurologists in private practice have a generally positive attitude to guidelines. The PD-CPG is well-known and often used, but its impact on quality of care is considered to be only modest. Thus, further research is needed to address issues of daily practice in future versions of the PD-CPG and to investigate the effects of implementation at the physician and patient levels.