The Rheumatologist as the Agent of Change: Utility of Guidelines in the Management of Gout
The development and implementation of guidelines are intended to improve the quality of care by translating current evidence into clinical practice. However, the publication and dissemination of guidelines do not intuitively result in their use. Evidence indicates that structured implementation can improve guideline adherence.1 In this issue of The Journal of Rheumatology , Schlesinger et al2 report results of a comprehensive survey of 201 rheumatologists based in the United States regarding their knowledge on and stated adherence to the 2020 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Guideline for Management of Gout3 and included questions on their stated agreement with 14 guideline recommendations using a 7-point Likert scale. The authors concluded that the self-reported practice of the rheumatologists surveyed was largely concordant with the ACR 2020 guideline recommendations, apart from a few discrepancies, particularly in recommended dosing regimens for colchicine, allopurinol, and fe
