The role of clinical guidelines in establishing competent professional practice

In a medical negligence claim, courts must consider whether a doctor acted in accordance with the required standard of care. Experts may disagree on what should have been done, particularly in light of knowledge that a patient has been harmed. In Australia, the law gives further guidance on the standard of care, providing that doctors will not have breached their duty if they acted in a manner that, at the time the service was provided, was widely accepted by peer professional opinion as competent professional practice.

The aim of this paper is to provide guidance to doctors on how practice in accordance with college, hospital or other accepted professional guidelines is likely to be viewed by a court in the event of a professional negligence claim.

In two recent cases, courts in different states have considered the role of professional guidelines in establishing what was widely accepted as competent professional practice.