22. Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are increasingly popular as tools for improving quality of care, but Dr Cynthia M Boyd (Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD) argues that they provide poor guidance for the care of the older patient with multiple comorbid diseases. This has major implications for clinicians treating older patients, since adherence to such guidelines is often used as the basis for pay-for-performance reimbursement decisions. Adhering to CPGs for one chronic condition may cause other problems or exaccerbate other existing diseases. August 10, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association .