Evidence-basing for quality improvement; bringing clinical practice guidelines closer to their promise of improving care practices.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have become central to efforts to change clinical practice and improve the quality of health care. Despite growing attention for rigorous development methodologies, it remains unclear what contribution CPGs make to quality improvement.

Aim: This mixed methods study examines guideline quality in relation to the availability of certain types of evidence and reflects on the implications of CPGs' promise to improve the quality of care practices.

Certain uncertainties: modes of patient safety in healthcare.

The safety movement in healthcare approaches patient safety mainly by reducing uncertainty to prevent possible errors. This article is concerned with how this approach relates to other modes of conceptualising patient safety. Following the work of Georges Canguilhem, I argue that, depending on how we conceptualise knowing, acting and error, a different mode of patient safety is possible: one that involves 'living with uncertainty'.