Consensus guidelines: improving the delivery of clinical preventive services

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Preventive Medicine
• Clinical Practice Guidelines

Background:

• Medical directors from competing health plans collaborated to improve clinical preventive service (CPS) delivery.
• A consensus set of CPS guidelines, the Health Plan Consensus Guidelines (HPCG), was developed based on U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess clinicians' knowledge and use of CPS recommendations.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of providing HPCG to clinicians to increase knowledge and use of CPS guidelines.

Main Methods:

• A within-subjects repeated-measures design using survey methodology was employed.
• Two surveys assessed clinician knowledge and use of CPS before and after receiving HPCG.
• 163 clinicians participated; data analyzed using Spearman's rho and t tests.

Main Results:

• Clinician familiarity with U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines did not change.
• Clinician use of CPS guidelines increased significantly after receiving HPCG.

Conclusions:

• A unified set of CPS guidelines from competing health plans can enhance CPS delivery among clinicians.
• This collaborative approach offers a model for nationwide health plans to standardize guidelines and support preventive care.