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Patrick J. O’Connor, MD, MPH

JAMA. 2005;294:741-743.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are widely viewed as a cornerstone of current efforts to improve the quality of clinical care.^1-2 At their best, CPGs articulate clear goals of care, enumerate potentially beneficial therapeutic approaches, and may reduce undesirable variation in care while supporting rational clinical management of common conditions. Clinical recommendations are often supported by evidence from well-designed randomized trials when such information is available.³

The National Guideline Clearinghouse sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality listed about 650 CPGs in 1999 and more than 1650 active CPGs in July 2005. In the last several years, major evidence-based recommendations from CPGs have often been proposed as measures of quality of care. For example, McGlynn et al⁴ identified 439 disease-specific and preventive quality-of-care indicators, many of which reflect current care recommendations in CPGs. Others have proposed and federal law may soon mandate use of . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Author Affiliation: HealthPartners Research Foundation, Minneapolis, Minn.

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