Advances in medical, biomedical and health services research have reduced the level of uncertainty in clinical practice. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) complement this progress by establishing standards of care backed by strong scientific evidence. CPGs are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care. These statements are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and costs of alternative care options. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust examines the current state of clinical practice guidelines and how they can be improved to enhance healthcare quality and patient outcomes. Clinical practice guidelines now are ubiquitous in our healthcare system. The Guidelines International Network (GIN) database currently lists more than 3,700 guidelines from 39 countries. Developing guidelines presents a number of challenges including lack of transparent methodological practices, difficulty reconciling conflicting guidelines, and conflicts of interest. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust explores questions surrounding the quality of CPG development processes and the establishment of standards. It proposes eight standards for developing trustworthy clinical practice guidelines emphasizing transparency; management of conflict of interest ; systematic review-guideline development intersection; establishing evidence foundations for and rating strength of guideline recommendations; articulation of recommendations; external review; and updating. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust shows how clinical practice guidelines can enhance clinician and patient decision-making by translating complex scientific research findings into recommendations for clinical practice that are relevant to the individual patient encounter, instead of implementing a one size fits all approach to patient care. This book contains information directly related to the work of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), as well as various Congressional staff and policymakers. It is a vital resource for medical specialty societies, disease advocacy groups, health professionals, private and international organizations that develop or use clinical practice guidelines, consumers, clinicians, and payers.

The Alberta clinical practice guidelines program is supporting appropriate, effective and quality medical care in Alberta through promotion, development and implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.

This book examines methods for selecting topics and setting priorities for clinical practice guideline development and implementation. Clinical practice guidelines are "systematically defined statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances." In its assessment of processes for setting priorities, the committee considers the principles of consistency with the organization's mission, implementation feasibility, efficiency, utility of the results to the organization, and openness and defensibilityâ€"a principle that is especially important to public agencies. The volume also examines the implications of health care restructuring for priority setting and topic selection, including the link between national and local approaches to guidelines development.

Important Notice: The digital edition of this book is missing some of the images or content found in the physical edition. Clinical Practice Guidelines for Midwifery & Women's Health, Fourth Edition is a trusted quick reference guide to midwifery and well woman care. Completely updated and revised, this new edition reflects the rapidly changing clinical environment. It addresses documentation and risk management to aid in decision-making and appropriate document care. Convenient and easy-to-use, this new edition encompasses traditional, empirical, and evidence-based practice to meet the needs of a broad range of new and experienced practitioners and patients. * Meets the recommendations of the American College of Nurse–Midwives (ACNM) and the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) for written policies and/or practice guidelines * Reflects current and emerging midwifery and women’s health practice * Provides support and guidance for daily clinical decision making

Almost 1,000 total pages; see index at beginning of publications for a complete list of included CPGs. Each CPG includes a section on the following: 1. GOAL 2. BACKGROUND 3. EVALUATION 4. TREATMENT 5. PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT (PI) MONITORING 6. SYSTEM REPORTING & FREQUENCY 7. RESPONSIBILITIES & 8. REFERENCES. OVERVIEW Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) are the backbone of the system-wide JTS Performance Improvement program. Health data abstracted from patient records and after action reports is analyzed and distilled into globally relevant CPGs to remove medical practice variations and prevent needless deaths. The CPGs compiled from DoDTR data and used by healthcare providers worldwide are largely responsible for the decreased Case Fatality Rate for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Examples are better transfusion practices; reduced burn morbidity and mortality; near elimination of extremity compartment syndrome; better patient care documentation; and improved communication across the spectrum of care between geographically dispersed facilities. CPGs are evidence-based and developed with experts in the military and civilian communities, deployed clinicians, Service trauma/surgical consultants, JTS leadership and formerly deployed Trauma Directors and Coordinators. JTS has a formalized process for developing, reviewing, updating, and approving CPGs. The guidelines are developed and implemented by clinical subject matter experts in response to needs identified in the military area of responsibility. CPGs were developed originally for U.S. Central Command. However, collaborative efforts are ongoing with the other Combatant Commands to customize CPGs to their COCOMs. INTRODUCTION TO THE JOINT TRAUMA SYSTEM (JTS) The Joint Trauma System (JTS) is the Department of Defense (DoD) authority for the military’s trauma care system. The vision of the Joint Trauma System is that every Soldier, Sailor, Marine and Airman injured on the battlefield will have the optimum chance for survival and maximum potential for functional recovery. To achieve this vision, in 2006, the JTS implemented programs for data -driven trauma system development and improvement in addition to the collection of trauma data. As part of its data collection efforts, the JTS maintains a registry of trauma patients who received care at medical treatment facilities (MTFs). Since 2007, this registry – known as the DoD Trauma Registry (DoDTR) – has documented demographic, injury, treatment, and outcomes data for all trauma patients admitted to any DoD MTF, regardless of whether the injury occurred during on-going military operations, and is the largest military trauma data source in the world. Development of the DoDTR began during the early years of the Global War on Terror (GWoT) when the need to systematically improve trauma care for combat wounded resulted in the impromptu creation of a demonstration registry, known then as the Combat Trauma Registry (CTR). The CTR was constructed by the Center for AMEDD Strategic Studies (CASS); trauma-related information was initially abstracted into it from paper medical records received from trauma nurse coordinators (TNCs) at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany. Shortly after the demonstration program started, the Army Surgeon General approved its transition to an operational mode, leading to the formation of the Joint Theater Trauma System (JTTS) and, eventually, the Joint Trauma System (JTS).

Clinical Practice Guidelines for Midwifery & Women's Health, Fifth Edition is an accessible and easy-to-use quick reference guide for midwives and women’s healthcare providers. Completely updated and revised to reflect the changing clinical environment, it offers current evidence-based practice, updated approaches, and opportunities for midwifery leadership in every practice setting. Also included are integrative, alternative, and complementary therapies. The Fifth Edition examines the transition to the use of ICD-10 codes, women’s health policy and advocacy, risk assessment and decision-making in practice, and inspiring trust in midwifery care. New clinical practice guidelines include health promotion and primary care practice, such as promoting restorative sleep, optimizing oral health, promoting a healthy weight, and caring for the woman with a substance abuse disorder.