Clinical Practice Guidelines

Guidelines are usually developed by professional groups, government agencies, or expert panels and include statements designed to assist practitioner and patient decisions. 

According to the Institute of Medicine* (2011) "Clinical Practice Guidelines are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care that are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of alternative care options."  (IOM*, 2011).

Not all practice guidelines are evidence based. Look for information about the methodology or the group that created the guideline.

*IOM is now known as the National Academy of Medicine

Institute of Medicine (2011). Clinical practice guidelines we can trust. The National Academies Press.https://doi.org/10.17226/13058.

Some sources of Evidence Based Practice guidelines:

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) The lead Federal agency charged with improving the safety and quality of healthcare for all Americans. AHRQ develops the knowledge, tools, and data needed to improve the healthcare system and help consumers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers make informed health decisions.

• United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) The USPSTF conducts scientific evidence reviews of a broad range of clinical preventive health care services (such as screening, counseling, and preventive medications) and develops recommendations for primary care clinicians and health systems.

• ECRI Guidelines Trust ECRI is a global, independent authority on healthcare technology and safety. The ECRI Guidelines Trust^® is a publicly available online repository of objective, evidence-based clinical practice guideline content. Its purpose is to provide physicians, nurses, other healthcare providers and professionals, and members of the healthcare community with current clinical practices to advance safe and effective patient care globally. This centralized repository includes evidence-based guidance developed by nationally and internationally recognized medical organizations and medical specialty societies.

Selected United States guidelines:

• ACP Clinical Recommendations American College of Physicians - ACP develops three different types of clinical recommendations: Clinical Practice Guidelines, Clinical Guidance Statements, and Best Practice Advice.

• American College of Cardiology Guidelines and Clinical Documents

• American Gastroenterological Association Clinical Guidance

• APA Clinical Practice Guidelines American Psychiatric Association practice guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for the assessment and treatment of psychiatric disorders.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines & Guidance Library
• Clinicalinfo.HIV.gov Federally approved clinical practice guidelines for HIV/AIDS.
• Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) - The Community Guide A collection of evidence-based findings of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF). It is a resource to help you select interventions to improve health and prevent disease in your state, community, community organization, business, healthcare organization, or school.

• Health Services/Technology Assessment Texts (HSTAT) A free, Web-based resource of full-text documents that provide health information and support health-care decision making.

• Infectious Disease Society of America Practice Guidelines Developed by a panel of experts who perform a systematic review of the available evidence and use the GRADE process to develop evidence-based recommendations to assist practitioners and patients in making decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances.

• Johns Hopkins Antibiotic (ABX), Diabetes, HIV, and Psychiatry Guides The Johns Hopkins Antibiotic (ABX), Diabetes, HIV, and Psychiatry Guides are regularly updated, evidence-based decision resources to help you answer critical questions at the point of care.

• National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Systematic Evidence Reviews and Clinical Practice Guidelines.

Selected international guidelines:

• Australian Government. NHMRC Publications From National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.

• Canadian Medical Association Infobase: Clinical Practice Guidelines : Provides access to nearly 2000 clinical practice guidelines produced or endorsed in Canada. It offers a number of search and browse capabilities, including a search by MeSH terms under the Basic Search option.

• UK - NICE Guidance From the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NICE quality standards are a set of specific, concise statements that act as markers of high quality, cost effective patient care, covering the treatment and prevention of different diseases and conditions.
• International Guideline Library From Guidelines International Network. The library contains links to guidelines published or endorsed by GIN member organizations from across the globe. It also contains a registry of planned guidelines and guidelines in development. 

Search for guidelines in nursing and medical databases: