The Words Matter Podcast with Oliver Thomson

Dr Oliver Thomson talks with Dr Samantha Copeland about evidence-based clinical guidelines for The Words Matter Podcast CauseHealth Series.

Show Notes

Welcome to another episode of the Words Matter Podcast.

We continue our journey into the CauseHealth book, and this time talking again to Dr Samantha Copeland about Chapter 6 (see chapter 6 here), which is titled ‘The Guidelines Challenge’. Chapter 6 closes Part 1 of the book, the Philosophical Framework, and the next episode represents Part 2, the Clinical Application, where quite rightly, I’ll be speaking with Christine Price about her experience as a patient, of complexity and her persistent pain (see all episodes of the CauseHealth Series here).
In this episode we talk about:
  • The original aims and purpose of clinical guidelines, and how they were developed to operationalise evidence-based practice.
  • The ontological and epistemological assumptions around causation that are built into guidelines.
  • The tension between evidence based guidelines and a dispositional view of causality for understanding health, disease, and the effectiveness (or not) of medical Interventions.
  • The sorts of evidence (methods) which make up guidelines and what is the problem/conflict here when practitioners implement these to individual patients.
  • How guidelines should be developed to account for the particulars of individual patients? (not just methodological pluralism but a revised ontology of causation).
  • How guidelines should be utilised or viewed by clinicians.
  • The integration of guidelines with expertise, judgement, decision-making
  • Finally, we talk about Lessons learned from Oxford ‘Guideline Challenge’ conference, and in the show notes have linked a editorial paper by Samantha and colleagues (see here) which outlined the major problems and positions presented in relation to guidelines, and how dispostionalist theory might provide some solutions to enable the better development and utilisation of guidelines for person-centred care.
So this episode has it all; EBM, clinical reasoning, judgment, ethics and even AI. Samantha does a fantastic job in articulating hers and the CauseHealth’s vision of guidelines. 

Find Samantha on Twitter @samdotC

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What is The Words Matter Podcast with Oliver Thomson?

The Words Matter Podcast brings you insights, reflections and conversations focused on the latest evidence, theory, philosophy and practice of communication-focused healthcare.

Find out about the more tacit, 'softer' and personal side of clinical practice such as the role of philosophy, beliefs, behaviours, developing therapeutic relationships or the purposeful use of language with people experiencing pain from expert academics, clinicians and researchers from across the world and spanning the musculoskeletal disciplines. This podcast will help you reflect on your own current practice and inform and stimulate you to consider new ways of approaching your practice and patients, to create a better clinical experience and outcomes in people with musculoskeletal pain.

Hosted by Dr Oliver Thomson PhD, an osteopath and Associate Professor who is passionate about researching and educating clinicians on a revised narrative, communication and biopsychosocial approach to musculoskeletal therapy. If you like the podcast, subscribe and check out the online learning and resources at www.wordsmatter-education.com.

Support the show and become a patron https://www.patreon.com/thewordsmatterpodcast