According to an article published in the October 2012 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, most medical guidelines are based on opinion and weak data. They do not follow the standards set by the Institute of Medicine.
In a study of 130 guidelines, fewer than half met even 10 of their 18 standards. Fewer than half stated whether conflicts of interest existed and of those who did address this issue 71% of committee chairs and 91% of co-chairs had conflicts!
The authors worried that conflicting financial interests could cause tension between what is good for the patient and what is good for business. No one seems interested in curtailing the out-of-control guideline industry!
