Disappearance of the National Guideline Clearinghouse: A Huge Loss for Evidence-Based Health Care
Authors: Zachary Munn, Amir Qaseem
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2018)

Ideas and Opinions6 November 2018Disappearance of the National Guideline Clearinghouse: A Huge Loss for Evidence-Based Health CareZachary Munn, PhD and Amir Qaseem, MD, PhD, MHA, for the American College of Physicians and the Joanna Briggs InstituteZachary Munn, PhDJoanna Briggs Institute and University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia (Z.M.) and Amir Qaseem, MD, PhD, MHAAmerican College of Physicians, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (A.Q.), for the American College of Physicians and the Joanna Briggs InstituteAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M18-2216 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Evidence-based guidelines play a pivotal role in optimizing quality of care and improving clinical outcomes for patients. In recognition of this important role, the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) was created in 1998. The NGC served as a "go-to" repository of practice guidelines meeting minimum quality criteria. In 2013, the criteria were revised and quality assessments were added to facilitate sorting and comparison of guidelines. All guidelines and related summary documents were freely accessible and updated routinely. In 2017, a tool was added that enabled users to quickly assess the processes used to develop different guidelines and to choose the guidelines ...References1. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Guidelines and measures updates. 2018. Accessed at www.ahrq.gov/gam/updates/index.html on 26 July 2018. Google Scholar2. Alonso-Coello P, Irfan A, Solà I, Gich I, Delgado-Noguera M, Rigau D, et al. The quality of clinical practice guidelines over the last two decades: a systematic review of guideline appraisal studies. Qual Saf Health Care. 2010;19:e58. [PMID: 21127089] doi:10.1136/qshc.2010.042077 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Steinberg E, Greenfield S, Wolman DM, Mancher M, Graham R. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2011. Google Scholar4. Qaseem A, Forland F, Macbeth F, Ollenschläger G, Phillips S, van der Wees P; Board of Trustees of the Guidelines International Network. Guidelines International Network: toward international standards for clinical practice guidelines. Ann Intern Med. 2012;156:525-31. [PMID: 22473437]. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-156-7-201204030-00009 LinkGoogle Scholar5. Duda S, Fahim C, Szatmari P, Bennett K. Is the National Guideline Clearinghouse a trustworthy source of practice guidelines for child and youth anxiety and depression? J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2017;26:86-97. [PMID: 28747931] MedlineGoogle Scholar6. Haynes B. Of studies, syntheses, synopses, summaries, and systems: the "5S" evolution of information services for evidence-based healthcare decisions. Evid Based Nurs. 2007;10:6-7. [PMID: 17218282] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Owens DK, Qaseem A, Chou R, Shekelle P; Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians. High-value, cost-conscious health care: concepts for clinicians to evaluate the benefits, harms, and costs of medical interventions. Ann Intern Med. 2011;154:174-80. [PMID: 21282697]. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-154-3-201102010-00007 LinkGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Joanna Briggs Institute and University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia (Z.M.)American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (A.Q.)Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M18-2216.Corresponding Author: Amir Qaseem, MD, PhD, MHA, American College of Physicians, 190 N. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106; e-mail, [email protected]org.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Munn: Joanna Briggs Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.Dr. Qaseem: American College of Physicians, 190 N. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106.Author Contributions: Conception and design: Z. Munn, A. Qaseem.Drafting of the article: Z. Munn, A. Qaseem.Critical revision for important intellectual content: Z. Munn, A. Qaseem.Final approval of the article: Z. Munn, A. Qaseem.Administrative, technical, or logistic support: Z. Munn, A. Qaseem.This article was published at Annals.org on 28 August 2018. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoCorrection: Disappearance of the National Guideline ClearinghouseDisappearance of the National Guideline Clearinghouse Karen Schoelles Disappearance of the National Guideline Clearinghouse Arlene S. Bierman and Mary P. Nix Metrics Cited byPrinciples for developing and adapting clinical practice guidelines and guidance for pandemics, wars, shortages, and other crises and emergencies: the PAGE criteriaGuideline registries and libraries: a mixed-methods approach identified issues to be addressed with contentMethods Used to Generate Consensus Statements for Clinical Practice GuidelinesInformation RetrievalOverview of the National and International Guidelines for Care of Breast Cancer SurvivorsGuideline developers in the United States were inconsistent in applying criteria for appropriate Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation useContentCharging for the use of survey instruments on population health: the case of quality-adjusted life yearsDisappearance of the National Guideline ClearinghouseKaren Schoelles, MD, SMDisappearance of the National Guideline ClearinghouseArlene S. Bierman, MD, MS and Mary P. Nix, MS, PMPCorrection: Disappearance of the National Guideline Clearinghouse 6 November 2018Volume 169, Issue 9Page: 648-649KeywordsGrading of Recommendations Assessment Development and EvaluationHealth careHealth care qualityHealth care quality assessmentHealth information technologyInformation technologyLibrariesPatientsResearch reporting guidelinesTreatment guidelines ePublished: 28 August 2018 Issue Published: 6 November 2018 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2018 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...