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Table of Contents
Background
The Institute of Medicine defines clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) as: "…systematically
developed statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health
care services for specific clinical circumstances." DoD has made it a priority to implement
evidence-based CPGs as a means of improving and standardizing the quality of care provided
to its beneficiaries. Since 1988 the VA and DoD have worked together to adapt internationally
recognized CPGs to meet the requirements of the military and veterans healthcare systems.
The VA/DoD Evidence-Based Practice Guideline Work Group
chooses the guidelines based on readiness needs of the military as
well as the high-volume, high-cost health conditions treated in the medical treatment facilities.
The guidelines have been developed by multi-disciplinary representatives from the DoD; the Army,
Navy, Air Force; and the Veterans Health Administration. Supporting material, including tool kits
and metrics, also has been developed to assist providers in implementing the CPGs.
Who Is Responsible for CPG Policies and Dissemination?
- Command Level
- Medical Treatment Facility Level
- Army - Quality Management/Utilization Management
- Air Force - Health Care Integrators (HCIs)
- Navy - Determined locally
All of the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines can be found on the
Veterans Health Administration VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines Web page.
Since the Army serves as DoD's lead for all clinical practice guideline initiatives, the
US Army Medical Command Quality Management Office
maintains a Web site with CPG material. This Web site also provides an on-line ordering system for CPG Tool Kits and their contents.
CPG Implementation Guidance
- VA/DoD Guidance for Implementation of VA/DoD CPGs
- Department of Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense, Guideline for Guidelines, 1 Feb 11
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Putting Clinical Practice Guidelines to Work in the Department of Veterans Affairs: A Guide for Action, 2007 (Designed as a resource for the key staff members charged with guideline implementation efforts within a VA medical center.)
- VA/DoD Manual for Facility Clinical Practice Guideline Champions, May 11 (Describes the clinical and administrative responsibilities of CPG Champions at local medical treatment facilities.)
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Responsibilities of the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline Champion and Team Members, May 2011 (Describes
the responsibilities of the CPG Champion and Team Members at the VA/DoD level.)
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Rand Manual, Putting Practice Guidelines to Work in the Department of Defense Medical System: A Guide for Action,
2001 (Designed as a resource for the key staff members charged with carrying out the guideline implementation
effort within a military medical treatment facility. The guide contains information, instructions, and examples for each
of the major steps in implementing a practice guideline: establishing supportive conditions and an implementation
structure, building an effective Implementation Action Team, developing and executing an implementation action plan,
and monitoring and feedback on implementation progress.)
- Other Guidance for Implementation of VA/DoD CPGs
Deployment-Related Clinical Practice Guidelines
The following PDHealth Web pages have been developed to provide information, guidance,
and related links on the deployment-related VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines.
Education and Training
Research
All VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines
- Cardiovascular
- Deployment Health
- Endocrine
- Mental Health
- OB/GYN
- Pain
- Pulmonary
- Rehabilitation
- Renal
- Other
Related Links
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
- National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) (Publicly available database of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and related documents. It provides Internet users with free online access to guidelines.)
- AHRQ Effective Health Care Program (Compares treatments for health conditions and makes the findings available to the public. The program is intended to help patients, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and others choose the most effective treatments.)
- Center for Evidence-Based Medicine
- University of Washington Health Sciences Library, Evidence-Based Practice Tools Web Page
- JAMAevidence® (Provides tools for understanding and applying the medical literature and making clinical diagnoses.)
- National Quality Forum
- ECRI Institute(ECRI Institute is an independent
nonprofit organization who provide publications, education, and consultation on
patient safety, quality improvement, risk management, medical devices, healthcare
technology, procurement, and health policy.)
- VA Center of Excellence on Implementing Evidence Based Practice (The Center's mission is advancing the science of transforming the healthcare system, both within and outside the VA health care system, to deliver consistently high quality care.)
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