Optimizing Clinical Practice Guideline Adherence in Primary Care

Clinical practice guidelines translate the best available evidence into practical recommendations for healthcare delivery. They aim to standardize medical care, improve health outcomes, and reduce unnecessary variation in treatment.

Yet, despite their benefits, guideline use remains inconsistent — both globally and in Switzerland. While the reasons for underuse are well known, concrete solutions have been less explored, especially in the Swiss context.

The barriers are clear — what’s missing are the solutions. That’s why we brought together diverse stakeholders to co-develop first ideas for overcoming them.

— Project Team

To develop actionable solutions, we applied a co-creation approach grounded in Design Thinking. A stakeholder dialogue in a workshop format brought together participants representing various stakeholder groups: general practitioners (GPs), software providers, professional medical associations, health insurances, cantonal administration, the pharmaceutical industry, research, and patients.

The stakeholder dialogue resulted in three early-stage solution concepts, refined through feedback from participants and additional experts:

• GuidelineGPT: An AI chatbot to facilitate easy access to guidelines.
• SwissGPP: A program to promote guidelines within GP networks.
• GLANCE: A national service to unify and simplify guidelines for practical use.

The co-creation process not only delivered ideas but also produced five key recommendations for policy advisors and practitioners. These include funding innovation, removing legal barriers, integrating real-world data into guideline updates, developing digital tools, and supporting professional exchange.

Ultimately, the proposed solutions and recommendations aim to support the development of meaningful policies and funding programs to improve adherence to clinical practice guidelines in Switzerland.

Discover the full concepts and recommendations in our Policy Brief.

Authors:

• Dr. Sarah Mantwill, Anna Romanova, Swiss Learning Health System, University of Lucerne
• Dr. Justus Vogel, Irene Salvi, University of St. Gallen
• Prof. Dr. med. Dr. med. dent. Jakob Martin Burgstaller, PhD, EMBA, University of Zurich
• Dr. med. Stefan Essig, PhD, University of Lucerne

Policy Brief: Download PDF