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From paper to practice – getting change implemented
New evidence in medical research can take over 10 years to implement, according to the European Science Foundation. Map of Medicine’s up-to-date communication of high quality new evidence helps information to reach healthcare professionals sooner. Changes in clinical practice are rapidly incorporated into care maps through continuous search and appraisal of the medical literature. Healthcare service designers using the Map ensure that these evidence-based changes are built into local procedures.
Map of Medicine monitors over 150 guidance producers, and constantly searches over 3,000 sources for the latest meta-analyses and systematic reviews, enabling healthcare professionals to stay abreast of changes through a single resource.
To ensure quality and reliability of information, all new literature is systematically evaluated before being added to care maps. While draft guidelines may be accessible ahead of publication, care map changes based on these are not published until the final version of the guideline is issued. The up-to-date nature of the care maps is therefore complemented by a guarantee that only finalised, quality-appraised information is included.
The Map’s quick reaction policy means that at each quarterly publication care maps will be updated to capture new evidence. For instance, in the August 2011 publication, 14 care maps were updated based on changes in the information landscape.
Recent changes in guidance that are now reflected in care maps include:
- Dementia: now shows NICE’s reappraisal of donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine and memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
- Placenta praevia: updated to add the Royal College of Obsetricians and Gynaecologists’ new guideline on placenta praevia, placenta praevia accrete, and vasa praevia
- Healthcare-related infection: now includes an MHRA drug safety update on tigecycline
- Osteoporosis and Paget's disease: both updated to reflect an MHRA drug safety update on bisphosphonates
Visit the Map to see how the latest evidence impacts best practice care.