As noted by the National Academy of Medicine, clinical practice guidelines are not a one-size-fits-all approach to patient care.
Rather, guidelines enable healthcare providers to advance safe and effective patient care through a process of considering patient preferences and needs, research evidence, and the benefits and harms of an intervention (Institute of Medicine, 2011).
Learn more and find clinical practice guidelines through the following resources.
ECRI Guidelines Trust
A centralized repository of guidelines developed by national and international medical organizations.
Register for your free account.
PubMed @ UC San Diego
Search for the condition, symptom, or procedure and then filter results for guidelines following these steps:
- Beneath Article types, select Customize.
- Activate the Practice Guideline option.
- Select the filter.
UpToDate
In a topic article, look for references to guidelines and a section for Society Guideline Links.
Review their tips for recognizing credible guidelines.
DynaMed Plus
In a topic page, look for references to guidelines and a section for Guidelines and Resources.
Trip
This clinical search engine is designed around finding research evidence to support clinical care.
Search on your topic and select the Guidelines filter.
Professional Medical Organizations
Search the websites of medical organizations. They often publish clinical practice guidelines.
For example, here are the American College of Physicians (ACP) Guidelines.