En una carta de lectores publicada en The Lancet, el Dr. Allen Harkins hace un cálculo escalofriante.
En una jornada común de consulta de atención primaria se atendieron a 18 pacientes con un total de 44 diagnósticos diferentes.
La cantidad de Guías que se deberían haber leído, recordado y aplicado correctamente en esas condiciones suman 3.679 páginas.
Esta cifra se obtiene incluyendo sólo las guías provenientes de instituciones oficiales o sociedades científicas de los últimos 3 años.
Si se tomaran 2 minutos para leer una página, el médico debería haber pasado 122 horas leyendo las guías para atender a sus pacientes según sus recomendaciones. Esto podría realizarse, pero tendría serias implicancias respecto del tiempo asignado al trabajo asistencial, facilidades educativas y organización.
¿Serán demasiadas las guías disponibles?
En ocasiones podría ser que se haya alcanzado la "masa crítica" de información disponible y se harían necesario de este modo instancias de racionalización de las recomendaciones canalizándolas mediante consensos oficiales y únicos.
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