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New Publication Describes Clinical Guidelines for the Effective Management of Common, Costly Behavioral Health Disorders

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 January 2008, 12:00 CST

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c80232) has announced the addition of "Disease State Management Strategies II. Clinical Behavioral Health Guidelines, 2nd edition (update 2008)" to their offering.

Valuable clinical guidelines for the effective management of common, costly behavioral health disorders including Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Alzheimer's disease, Alcohol/substance abuse and dependency, Major depression, Bipolar, Obsessive-compulsive, and Anxiety/phobias/panic disorders including PTSD, Personality disorders, Impulse control, Conduct, Oppositional defiant disorders and Schizophrenia. Extensive references, resource materials, and related web sites follow each guideline. Useful tools for accreditation and quality improvement strategies. Updated as new information becomes available.

Preface:

Each guideline must be reviewed by the medical policy committee of the HMO or contracted/delegated medical group or other providers and modified and adapted as appropriate. It is strongly recommended that all applicable documents that will be used to manage medical care in the organization be sent to affected providers for review and comment prior to implementation. This will always promote an understanding of the guideline, avoid compliance issues, and frequently improve the document by the added input.

This information is provided as a general reference and is not intended to address every aspect of a clinical situation that may exist now, or in the future. Physicians and health care professionals must exercise clinical discretion in interpreting and applying this information to individual patients.

Any information in this manual is advisory and has been developed to assist healthcare professionals, together with patients, make decisions about the management of the patient's health. It is intended to support discussion and shared decision-making and is not a substitute for sound clinical judgement.

Cost effective health care is quality driven (true quality, that is; not excessive care) and attention must always be focused on the issues that will result in optimal medical/surgical outcomes in the specific local medical environment. Guideline compliance remains a major issue. Neither CQI teams nor academic detailing have proven to be particularly effective.

Once adopted, all policies, procedures, guidelines, protocols, benefit interpretations, review criteria, pathways and the like should be reviewed annually, or in some cases even more frequently, as clinically significant changes occur due to new technology, medications or practices entering the medical mainstream. The sources of the information in a guideline, whenever possible, should be included as a reference or footnote.

Use clear and unambiguous language in a stated policy or procedure. Avoid any implications of guaranteed clinical results or outcomes as a result of following a particular guideline. All policies, procedures, guidelines and similar criteria should be followed consistently and be in writing.

If the distribution of the guideline is not followed by feedback and reinforcement, compliance will be minimal.

When using this manual, it should be noted that the policies/guidelines are all subject to contractual limitations and changes that occur periodically based on objective studies in the medical literature, recommendations by national bodies such as the AMA, ACP or Medicare and/or other objective sources of new information.

Guidelines are a roadmap with options for the route to be traveled, not a standard of care. These guidelines are not intended as a sole source of guidance. Rather, each is designed to assist clinicians by providing an evidence-based framework for decision-making strategies. Guidelines are not intended to replace clinical judgment or establish a protocol for all individuals and may not provide the only appropriate approach to diagnosing and managing a problem.

To assure an organized process for the compilation, approval and distribution of medical policy and related information, all policies or guidelines proposed for use by any physician or medical organization should be submitted to the Medical Director or Vice President, Medical Services for detailed review, circulation to others in the organization and specific approval prior to implementation.

Contents List

Introduction to this volume (Update 8-06)

Resource lists -- Evidence-based Medicine in Behavioral Healthcare (Update 8-06)

Evidence-based Medicine web sites

Obstetrical guideline link -- mental health (New 3-07)

2007 JCAHO Behavioral Healthcare National Patient Safety Goals

JCAHO Tips for Avoiding Suicide

Behavioral Health Care -- Access to care (1996 data)

Thoughts for the Unwary

Clinical Guidelines

Alzheimer's disease (updated 07-04, 1-05, 6-05, 11-05, 3-06, 2-07)

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (updated 10-04, 1-05, 2-06, 2-07, 11-07)

Alcohol/Substance Abuse and Dependency (updated 12-04, 10-05, 9-06, 8-07, 10-07)

Anxiety, Phobias and Panic Disorder (updated 08-04, 10-05, 2-06, 2-07)

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (updated 08-04, 11-05, 11-07)

Bipolar Disorder (update 8-04, 12-04, 2-05, 6-05, 11-05, 1-07, 12-07)

Major Depression (update 8-04, 12-04, 3-05, 11-05, 2-06, 5-06, 9-06, 1-07, 11-07)

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) (update 12-04, 11-05, 2-06, 3-07, 6-07)

Personality Disorders (New 5-06)

Impulse Control Disorders (New 11-05, update 1-08)

Conduct Disorder (update 01-04, 8-06, 1-07, 1-08)

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (update 01-04)

Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Issues (New 6-07)

Cognitive Mental Disorders in children or adolescents - due to a general medical condition (1999, update 1-08)

Schizophrenia -- guideline, resources (update 8-05, 12-05, 4-06, 9-06, 1-07, 3-07, 11-07)

Bibliography - a general reading list for patients and their families

Apollo publication list and order information

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c80232

Source: Business Wire

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