Do we need guidelines for the introduction of new interventions? Views from the UK, the USA, The Netherlands, and Ancient Greece

In April 2004, the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology issued a guideline on the introduction of new interventions in clinical practice. This initiative is discussed from an international perspective with reference to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, launched in 1999 in the UK, the Code of Professional Ethics of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, published in September 2003, and the Hippocratic Oath, which originates from ancient Greece.