Guideline adaptation is the systematic approach to the endorsement and/or modification of a guideline(s) produced in one cultural and organizational setting for application in a different context. Adaptation may be used as an alternative to de novo guideline development, e.g., for customizing (an) existing guideline(s) to suit the local context.

Rationale
The development and updating of high-quality clinical practice guidelines require substantial time, expertise and resources. Health organisations are increasingly confronted by the need to standardize health policies and practises to better manage finite resources and to promote optimal, evidence-based as well as equitable patient care. There is pressure for organisations to produce guidelines rapidly, to ensure that medical practice is consistent with current, emerging medical knowledge and with increasingly limited resources. Less formal guideline development groups, such as hospitals or group practices, can be overwhelmed by expectations and the requirements for creating these tools. Guideline adaptation recognises and responds to legitimate differences in organisational, regional or cultural circumstances that could lead to variations in recommendations supported by the same evidence. We postulate that existing high quality guidelines as a resource may be an alternative to de novo development to reduce duplication of effort, enhance efficiency, and promote local uptake of quality guideline recommendations.