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 defensibility—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.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Summary
Introduction
Criteria for Topic Selection
Procedures for Priority Setting
Future Directions for Priority Setting
References
Appendix A: Setting Priorities for Health Technology Assessment: A Model Process Executive Summary
Appendix B: Workshop on Setting Priorities for Practice Guidelines
Appendix C: Methods for Setting Priorities for Guidelines Development: Medical Malpractice
Appendix D: National Guidelines and Local Action: Priority-Setting for the Development of Research-Based Protocols at Intermountain Health Care
Appendix E: The Development of Clinical Guidelines for Primary Care Practice: A Systems Approach
Appendix F: Examples of Questionnaires for Use in Priority Setting
Appendix G: Committee Biographies