Practice Guidelines Resources Section

In Brief: The Practice Guideline Resources section of the Academy’s Web site lists many parameters, guidelines, and links thought to be useful to physiatrists. 

The Practice Guideline Resources section of the Academy Web site is a great resource overseen by the Academy Practice Guidelines Committee. The Committee recognizes that practice guidelines are an important tool for medical practice and could play an increasingly important role in the issue of recertification. Practice parameters, practice guidelines, and links to other Web sites were chosen for inclusion in this section if they were considered to be relevant topics to physical medicine and rehabilitation.

The Practice Guideline Resources section is divided into four sub-sections: (1) practice parameters developed by AAPM&R; (2) practice guidelines, parameters, standards, and reports endorsed by AAPM&R; (3) additional practice guideline resources; and (4) additional on-line resources. On the Practice Guideline Resources home page, topics covered in the section are listed alphabetically; users can scroll up or down and click on a subject for direct access to it.

The first section (practice parameters developed by AAPM&R) includes, for example, the “Practice Parameter for Electrodiagnostic Studies in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Summary Statement”, developed in conjunction with AAEM and AAN. 

The second section (practice guidelines, parameters, standards, and reports endorsed by AAPM&R) includes the “Practice Parameter for Needle Electromyographic Evaluation of Patients with Suspected Cervical Radiculopathy”, for example, which was developed by AAEM and endorsed by AAPM&R.  The second section also includes guidelines published by the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), the American Pain Society, and others.

The third section (additional practice guideline resources) includes details about the National Guideline Clearinghouse (a joint project between the AHRQ, the AMA, and the AAHP), a JCAHO-publication entitled “Selecting and Implementing Clinical Practice Guidelines in Hospitals”, and Faulkner & Gray’s “Medical Outcomes & Guidelines Sourcebook”, to name a few.

Last but not least, the fourth section (additional on-line resources) includes direct links to many guideline and research orientated sites, such as: practice guideline sites for pediatrics, radiology, endocrinology, pain, and cancer pain.  There are also direct links to the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) Web site for the antithrombotic guidelines, the Cochrane Collaboration, the Cochrane Library, and the National Research Register.

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Copies of the Practice Guideline Resources section can be downloaded from this site. The section is updated periodically. Suggestions for additional guidelines or links to be included in the Resources section are welcome. 

To obtain more information about a particular item or if you have questions regarding the Practice Guidelines or Clinical Pathways section of the Web site, please contact the Academy office at (847) 737-6000.