A clinical practice guideline

Abstract

After extensive inquiry and backlash against the historic recommendation-based clinical practice guidelines, the Institute of Medicine, and others, called for a revision of the recommendation-based clinical practice guidelines. The new guidelines were to be evidence-based. A rigorous rubric was created to standardize the development process of future clinical practice guidelines. These evidence-based clinical practice guidelines are designed to stand certain scrutiny their recommendation-based predecessors could not, improve the quality of health care, decrease inefficiencies, and reduce practice variation. Through the extensive and deliberate analysis of high-quality medical literature, clinical practice guidelines provide evidence-supported health-care plans for physicians and patients alike. As clinical practice guidelines serve as a summary of scientific evidence available, those areas which lack adequate clinical research may become research priority.