📋 Current Practice
Current practice refers to the standard procedures, protocols, or approaches commonly used in clinical care, diagnosis, or treatment at a given time, based on prevailing guidelines, evidence, and expert consensus.
🧠 Key Characteristics
- Reflects the established norms within a medical specialty.
- Often based on clinical guidelines, systematic reviews, and consensus statements.
- May vary by region, institution, or resource availability.
- Evolves over time as new evidence or technologies emerge.
📌 Examples
| Field | Current Practice |
| —————— | ————————————————— |
| Neuroradiology | Use of contrast-enhanced T1 MRI for DVA detection |
| Infectious disease | Antibiotic stewardship and narrow-spectrum use |
| Surgery | Minimally invasive techniques when feasible |
⚖️ Role in Research
- Serves as the baseline for evaluating new interventions.
- Helps determine whether a study’s findings are clinically impactful.
- Research that merely confirms current practice may be seen as low value unless it improves safety, cost, or implementation.
✅ Best Practice
- Clearly state the current standard when proposing alternatives.
- Compare new methods or tools against current practice, not against outdated or unrealistic controls.