Clinical guidelines: involvement of peers increases physician adherence.

The literature illustrates the important issue of physician adherence to guidelines in their daily practice. In a quantitative study, we asked a random sample of 100 hospital gastroenterologists to evaluate their knowledge of guidelines and awareness of promoters. The degree to which guidelines were considered reliable was not related to the scientific evidence but was significantly associated with the promoter. The French Society of Gastroenterology was considered to be a more reliable promoter than national health agencies and pharmaceutical industries. Gastroenterologists become aware of guidelines mainly through their specialty society (62%). Specialty societies appear to be a more important source of information on guidelines for physicians. National health agencies should involve the specialty societies in the guideline development process to achieve changes in clinical practice.