Transparency in clinical practice guidelines: the problem of consensus-based recommendations and practice points.

Clinical practice guidelines often provide 'consensus-based recommendations' for issues where there is a lack of evidence to support an evidence-based recommendation, and 'practice points' to assist clinicians in various aspects of everyday clinical care. However, Australian clinical practice guidelines often fail to define these terms clearly, and there is significant inconsistency in how they are used. This lack of clarity presents an impediment to the effective practice of evidence-based medicine and an opportunity for reform in Australian clinical guideline development.