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What are Practice Guidelines
Practice guidelines are systematically developed statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances.
Institute of Medicine. (1990). Clinical Practice Guidelines: Directions for a New Program, M.J. Field and K.N. Lohr (eds.) Washington, DC: National Academy Press. page 38.
What are CPGs? Produced by the Health Council of Canada
What are CPGs: This video provides an introduction to CPGs: what they are, who can benefit from their use, and why patients and health care providers should take an interest in them.
What is the purpose of a Clinical Practice Guideline
Practice guidelines serve to:
- describe appropriate care based on the best available scientific evidence and broad consensus
- reduce inappropriate variation in practice
- provide a more rational basis for referral
- provide a focus for continuing education
- promote efficient use of resources
- act as focus for quality control, including audit
- highlight shortcomings of existing literature and suggest appropriate future research
From the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation's Clinical Practice Guidelines.
Locating Practice Guidelines
Practice guidelines are available from many sources online. They are not, however, available for every health and medical condition as they take lots of time, effort, and best practice analysis to develop.
- HIV/AIDS Treatment Clinical GuidelinesThe federally approved medical practice guidelines for HIV/AIDS are developed by panels of experts in HIV care. More information about the panels can be found in each set of guidelines.
- American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation: Practice Guideline ResourcesProvides timely, in-depth information about PM&R practice guidelines. Also gives good, easy-to-understand definition of what "practice guidelines" means.
- American College of Physicians (ACP) Clinical RecommendationsThree different types of clinical recommendations: Clinical Practice Guidelines, Clinical Guidance Statements, and Best Practice Advice.
- American Diabetes AssociationFight diabetes with the latest ADA clinical practice recommendations! (Regularly reviewed & updated.)
- American Heart AssociationSearch AHA practice guidelines by topic or publication date. Also, a handy mobile app for practice guidelines on the go! And info on policies & development of practice guidelines for the seriously erudite.
- Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of SchizophreniaSchizophrenia is a serious mental disorder with prevalence rates of 2-3 per 1000 reported from India. The impact of schizophrenia on patients, their families and the wider society are no different from what has been observed in the rest of the world. However, resource constraints, poverty, lack of education and inadequate access to health care facilities for patients make the problem of providing care particularly daunting in India. In 2005, the Indian Psychiatric Society came up with treatment guidelines for schizophrenia tailored to meet the requirements of our patients in the context of prevailing existing resources. There have been several developments in the management of schizophrenia since then. These new set of guidelines attempt to update the previous guidelines by emphasizing what is new in the field. These guidelines ought to be read in conjunction with the earlier version of the treatment guidelines on schizophrenia as developed and published by the Indian Psychiatric Society in the year 2005.
- COVID-19 Resource CenterECRI has developed this free resource center to help hospitals, ambulatory care, and aging care facilities protect healthcare workers, residents, and patients.
- CMA Infobase: A clinical practice guidelines databaseMaintained by the Canadian Medical Association it contains 1,200 guidelines developed or endorsed by authoritative medical & health organizations in Canada.
- ECRI Guidelines TrustECRI Guidelines Trust TM is a publicly available web-based repository of objective, evidence-based clinical practice guideline content. Its purpose is to provide physicians, nurses, other clinical specialties, and members of the healthcare community with up-to-date, clinical practices to advance safe and effective patient care. This centralized repository includes evidence-based guidance developed by nationally- and internationally-recognized medical organizations and medical specialty societies.
- Evidence-based clinical guidelines for eating disorders: international comparisonThe current systematic review sought to compare available evidence-based clinical treatment guidelines for all specific eating disorders.
- Infectious Disease Society of America: Practice GuidelinesPractice guidelines for antimicrobial use, infections by organ system & organism, and "other guidelines" (fever, infection prevention, immunizations, catheter-related infections, etc.). Also, downloadable guidelines for mobile devices, a discussion forum for practice guidelines, and info on guideline methodology--for those wishing to delve deeper!
- Infectious Disease Society of America: Practice GuidelinesPractice guidelines for antimicrobial use, infections by organ system & organism, and "other guidelines" (fever, infection prevention, immunizations, catheter-related infections, etc.). Also, downloadable guidelines for mobile devices, a discussion forum for practice guidelines, and info on guideline methodology--for those wishing to delve deeper!
- National Guideline ClearinghouseA repository of clinical practice guidelines created by various government agencies, non-profit groups, and professional organizations. This is a U.S. initiative to aggregate evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. **This site is no longer being updated
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteFind practice guidelines for sickle cell, asthma, high blood pressure, von Willegbrande disease, & cardiovascular health and risk reduction in youth.
- NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. National Comprehensive Cancer Network."The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology™ – the recognized standard for clinical policy in oncology – are the most comprehensive and most frequently updated clinical practice guidelines available in any area of medicine. Covering 97 percent of all patients with cancer and updated on a continual basis, the NCCN Guidelines are developed through an explicit review of the evidence integrated with expert medical judgment by multidisciplinary panels from NCCN Member Institutions. Treatment recommendations are specific and are implemented through performance measurement. NCCN Guidelines Panels address cancer detection, prevention and risk reduction, workup and diagnosis, treatment and supportive care."
- Treatment Guidelines: Bipolar DisorderEvidence-based guidelines for treating bipolar disorder
- UK's National Institute for Health and Care ExcellenceCalled "Guidance Lists," this site boasts over 1,110 practice guidelines for medical care in the United Kingdom.