[Evidence based guidelines and clinical pathways: complementation or contradiction?].

Even methodological sound guidelines will only achieve their goals when the recommendations are transferred into practice. Guideline introduction and dissemination must therefore be accompanied by active implementation measures. For inpatient care clinical pathways can serve as tools, especially taking advantage of their sequential character. Complementary evidence based guidelines can serve as an optimal source of systematically appraised evidence in developing clinical pathways. Considering them is of major help to assure that the content of clinical pathways is in accordance with evidence. The article highlights methodological requirements in guideline and pathway development and gives prospects on how both tools can be used together.