Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • ARTICLES
    • Current Issue
    • Abstracts In Press
    • Archives
    • Special Issue Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • INFO FOR
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Call For Papers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • SUBMIT
    • Manuscript
    • Peer Review
  • ABOUT
    • The JABFM
    • The Editing Fellowship
    • Editorial Board
    • Indexing
    • Editors' Blog
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • Other Publications
    • abfm

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
American Board of Family Medicine
  • Other Publications
    • abfm
American Board of Family Medicine

American Board of Family Medicine

Advanced Search

  • HOME
  • ARTICLES
    • Current Issue
    • Abstracts In Press
    • Archives
    • Special Issue Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • INFO FOR
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Call For Papers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • SUBMIT
    • Manuscript
    • Peer Review
  • ABOUT
    • The JABFM
    • The Editing Fellowship
    • Editorial Board
    • Indexing
    • Editors' Blog
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • JABFM on Bluesky
  • JABFM On Facebook
  • JABFM On Twitter
  • JABFM On YouTube
Article CommentaryCommentary

The Need to Systematically Evaluate Clinical Practice Guidelines

Allen F. Shaughnessy, Lisa Cosgrove and Joel R. Lexchin
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine November 2016, 29 (6) 644-648; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2016.06.160115
Allen F. Shaughnessy
From the Department of Family Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Tufts University Family Medicine Residency at Cambridge Health Alliance, Boston, MA (AFS); the Department of Counseling and School Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Boston (LC); and the School of Health Policy and Management, York University, Toronto, Canada (JRL).
PharmD, MMedEd
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Lisa Cosgrove
From the Department of Family Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Tufts University Family Medicine Residency at Cambridge Health Alliance, Boston, MA (AFS); the Department of Counseling and School Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Boston (LC); and the School of Health Policy and Management, York University, Toronto, Canada (JRL).
PhD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Joel R. Lexchin
From the Department of Family Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Tufts University Family Medicine Residency at Cambridge Health Alliance, Boston, MA (AFS); the Department of Counseling and School Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Boston (LC); and the School of Health Policy and Management, York University, Toronto, Canada (JRL).
MD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

References

  1. 1.↵
    1. Genuis SJ
    . The proliferation of clinical practice guidelines: professional development or medicine-by-numbers? J Am Board Fam Pract 2005;18:419–25.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  2. 2.↵
    1. Dobrow MJ,
    2. Goel V,
    3. Lemieux-Charles L,
    4. Black NA
    . The impact of context on evidence utilization: a framework for expert groups developing health policy recommendations. Soc Sci Med 2006;63:1811–24.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  3. 3.↵
    1. Garber AJ,
    2. Abrahamson MJ,
    3. Barzilay JI,
    4. et al
    . Consensus statement by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and American College of Endocrinology on the comprehensive type 2 diabetes management algorithm - 2016 executive summary. Endocrine Pract 2016;22:84–113.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  4. 4.↵
    1. Redmon B,
    2. Caccamo D,
    3. Flavin P,
    4. et al
    . Diagnosis and management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults. Guideline summary. 16th ed. Revised July 2014. Available from: https://www.icsi.org/guidelines_more/catalog_guidelines_and_more/catalog_guidelines/catalog_endocrine_guidelines/diabetes/. Accessed April 4, 2016.
  5. 5.↵
    1. Moyer VA
    ; US Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for prostate cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med 2012;157:120–34.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  6. 6.↵
    1. Carter HB,
    2. Albertsen PC,
    3. Barry MJ,
    4. et al
    . Early detection of prostate cancer: AUA guideline. J Urol 2013;190:419–26.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  7. 7.↵
    US Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for breast cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med 2009;151:716–26, W-236.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  8. 8.↵
    1. Lee CH,
    2. Dershaw DD,
    3. Kopans D,
    4. et al
    . Breast cancer screening with imaging: recommendations from the Society of Breast Imaging and the ACR on the use of mammography, breast MRI, breast ultrasound, and other technologies for the detection of clinically occult breast cancer. J Am Coll Radiol 2010;7:18–27.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  9. 9.
    1. Niederman MS,
    2. Bass JB Jr.,
    3. Campbell GD,
    4. et al
    . Guidelines for the initial management of adults with community-acquired pneumonia: diagnosis, assessment of severity, and initial antimicrobial therapy. American Thoracic Society. Medical Section of the American Lung Association. Am Rev Resp Dis 1993;148:1418–26.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  10. 10.
    1. Gleason PP,
    2. Kapoor WN,
    3. Stone RA,
    4. et al
    . Medical outcomes and antimicrobial costs with the use of the American Thoracic Society guidelines for outpatients with community-acquired pneumonia. JAMA 1997;278:32–9.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  11. 11.
    1. Camm AJ,
    2. Lip GY,
    3. De Caterina R,
    4. et al
    . 2012 Focused update of the ESC guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation: an update of the 2010 ESC guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation–developed with the special contribution of the European Heart Rhythm Association. Europace 2012;14:1385–413.
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
  12. 12.
    1. Andrade AA,
    2. Li J,
    3. Radford MJ,
    4. Nilasena DS,
    5. Gage BF
    . Clinical benefit of American College of Chest Physicians versus European Society of Cardiology guidelines for stroke prophylaxis in atrial fibrillation. J Gen Intern Med 2015;30:777–82.
    OpenUrl
  13. 13.
    1. Alper BS,
    2. Malone-Moses M,
    3. McLellan JS,
    4. Prasad K,
    5. Manheimer E
    . Thrombolysis in acute ischaemic stroke: time for a rethink? BMJ 2015;350:h1075.
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
  14. 14.
    1. Shekelle PG,
    2. Kravitz RL,
    3. Beart J,
    4. Marger M,
    5. Wang M,
    6. Lee M
    . Are nonspecific practice guidelines potentially harmful? A randomized comparison of the effect of nonspecific versus specific guidelines on physician decision making. Health Serv Res 2000;34:1429–48.
    OpenUrlPubMedWeb of Science
  15. 15.↵
    1. Quanstrum KH,
    2. Hayward RA
    . Lessons from the mammography wars. N Engl J Med 2010;363:1076–9.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  16. 16.↵
    1. Kahneman D,
    2. Tversky A
    . On the reality of cognitive illusions. Psychol Rev 1996;103:582–91; discussion 592–6.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  17. 17.↵
    1. Guyatt G,
    2. Akl EA,
    3. Hirsh J,
    4. et al
    . The vexing problem of guidelines and conflict of interest: a potential solution. Ann Intern Med 2010;152:738–41.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  18. 18.↵
    1. Immel BK
    . A brief history of the GMPs for pharmaceuticals. Pharm Technol 2001:44–52.
  19. 19.↵
    National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Developing NICE guidelines: the manual. Published October 2014; updated April 2016. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/article/pmg20/chapter/14-Updating-guidelines. Accessed March 30, 2016.
  20. 20.↵
    Institute of Medicine. Clinical practice guidelines we can trust. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2011.
  21. 21.↵
    1. Schunemann HJ,
    2. Al-Ansary LA,
    3. Forland F,
    4. et al
    . Guidelines international network: principles for disclosure of interests and management of conflicts in guidelines. Ann Intern Med 2015;163:548–53.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  22. 22.↵
    1. Shaneyfelt TM,
    2. Centor RM
    . Reassessment of clinical practice guidelines: go gently into that good night. JAMA 2009;301:868–9.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  23. 23.↵
    1. Burda BU,
    2. Norris SL,
    3. Holmer HK,
    4. Ogden LA,
    5. Smith ME
    . Quality varies across clinical practice guidelines for mammography screening in women aged 40–49 years as assessed by AGREE and AMSTAR instruments. J Clin Epidemiol 2011;64:968–76.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  24. 24.↵
    1. Coyne DW
    . Influence of industry on renal guideline development. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2007;2:3–7; discussion 13–4.
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
  25. 25.↵
    1. Berg M,
    2. Horstman K,
    3. Plass S,
    4. Van Heusden M
    . Guidelines, professionals and the production of objectivity: standardisation and the professionalism of insurance medicine. Sociol Health Illn 2000;22:765–91.
    OpenUrl
  26. 26.↵
    1. Norris SL,
    2. Burda BU,
    3. Holmer HK,
    4. et al
    . Author's specialty and conflicts of interest contribute to conflicting guidelines for screening mammography. J Clin Epidemiol 2012;65:725–33.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  27. 27.↵
    1. Norris CL,
    2. Holmer HK,
    3. Ogden LA,
    4. Burda BU
    . Conflict of interest in clinical practice guideline development: a systematic review. PloS One 2011;6:e25153.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  28. 28.↵
    AGREE Next Steps Consortium. Appraisal of guidelines for research and evaluation II. AGREE II instrument. May 2009. Available from: http://www.agreetrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/AGREE_II_Users_Manual_and_23-item_Instrument_ENGLISH.pdf. Accessed September 29, 2016.
  29. 29.↵
    1. Lenzer J,
    2. Hoffman JR,
    3. Furberg CD,
    4. Ioannidis JP
    ; Guideline Panel Review Working Group. Ensuring the integrity of clinical practice guidelines: a tool for protecting patients. BMJ 2013;347:f5535.
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
  30. 30.↵
    1. Semlitsch T,
    2. Blank WA,
    3. Kopp IB,
    4. Siering U,
    5. Siebenhofer A
    . Evaluating guidelines: a review of key quality criteria. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2015;112:471–8.
    OpenUrl
  31. 31.↵
    1. Cosgrove L,
    2. Shaughnessy AF
    . Development of a clinician-friendly guideline assessment tool. Guideline International Network Scientific Programme 2015; 2015; Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
  32. 32.↵
    Australian Government, National Health and Medical Research Council (August 10). Procedures and requirements for meeting the 2011 NHMRC standard for clinical practice guidelines. May 2011, version 1.1. Available from: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/cp133_nhmrc_procedures_requirements_guidelines_v1.1_120125.pdf. Accessed March 30, 2016.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

The Journal of the American Board of Family     Medicine: 29 (6)
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
Vol. 29, Issue 6
November-December 2016
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Cover (PDF)
  • Index by author
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Board of Family Medicine.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
The Need to Systematically Evaluate Clinical Practice Guidelines
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Board of Family Medicine
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Board of Family Medicine web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
3 + 14 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
The Need to Systematically Evaluate Clinical Practice Guidelines
Allen F. Shaughnessy, Lisa Cosgrove, Joel R. Lexchin
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Nov 2016, 29 (6) 644-648; DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2016.06.160115

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
The Need to Systematically Evaluate Clinical Practice Guidelines
Allen F. Shaughnessy, Lisa Cosgrove, Joel R. Lexchin
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Nov 2016, 29 (6) 644-648; DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2016.06.160115
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Notes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • Clinical Practice Guidelines—Is “Regulation” the Answer?
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Becoming a Phronimos: Evidence-Based Medicine, Clinical Decision Making, and the Role of Practical Wisdom in Primary Care
  • Ten years later: a review of the US 2009 institute of medicine report on conflicts of interest and solutions for further reform
  • Practice-based Research Network (PBRN) Engagement: 20+ Years and Counting
  • When is a guideline not a guideline? The devil is in the details
  • Guideline recommendations and antimicrobial resistance: the need for a change
  • Guidelines in family practice--help wanted
  • Content Usage and the Most Frequently Read Articles of 2016
  • Bread and Butter of Family Medicine: Guidelines, Population Screening, Diagnostic Evaluations, and Practice Models
  • Clinical Practice Guidelines--Is "Regulation" the Answer?
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Empowering Family Physicians in Medical Staff Leadership to Foster Physician Well-Being
  • Maternity Care Deserts: Key Drivers of the National Maternal Health Crisis
  • The One Taboo Question
Show more Commentaries

Similar Articles

Navigate

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues

Authors & Reviewers

  • Info For Authors
  • Info For Reviewers
  • Submit A Manuscript/Review

Other Services

  • Get Email Alerts
  • Classifieds
  • Reprints and Permissions

Other Resources

  • Forms
  • Contact Us
  • ABFM News

© 2025 American Board of Family Medicine

Powered by HighWire