Is a lack of diversity among clinical practice guideline authors contributing to health inequalities for patients?

Clinical practice guidelines and other types of guidance documents are among the most important evidence based publications in medicine. Many clinical practice guidelines are disseminated beyond the borders of the country that produced them, and affect access to care, diagnostic work-up, and treatment interventions for billions of people worldwide. This is especially true if they are published or endorsed by influential organisations such as professional societies in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Canada.Since clinical practice guidelines influence medical care, they are directly tied to the flow of financial resources in healthcare. The World Health Organisation (WHO) examined 190 countries and found global spending on health has continually risen since 2000, and the US has reached more than $8 trillion or 10% of its gross domestic product (GDP).1 An analysis by the Commonwealth Fund reported that despite the US spending more of its GDP on healthcare than other…
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