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United Health Foundation, AHRQ and Leading Primary Care Specialty Societies Disseminate Evidence-Based Clinical Prevention Recommendations to Clinicians Nationwide

Posted on: Thursday, 26 October 2006, 15:01 CDT

The United Health Foundation, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), American Academy of Family Practice, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians and the American Osteopath Association announced a coordinated campaign to disseminate best scientific evidence for clinical preventive services to the nation's primary care health professionals and physicians in training.

More than 400,000 physicians, physicians in training, medical students and advance practice nurses nationwide will now receive for the first time, free of charge, the complete printed version of the agency's 2006 Guide to Clinical Preventive Services. This guide is widely respected for its scientific and rigorous, impartial assessments of evidence and their applicability by physicians.

The 2006 Guide contains 53 new or revised scientifically based recommendations from the prestigious U.S. Preventive Services Task Force covering topics that include cancer, heart disease, infectious disease and mental health, among many others.

Recommendations focus on: screenings for obesity, breast cancer, abdominal aortic aneurysm and HIV; hormone therapy for the prevention of chronic conditions in postmenopausal women; and diet and behavioral counseling. The recommendations are grouped by: cancer; cardiovascular problems; infectious diseases; mental and substance-abuse disorders; metabolic, nutritional and endocrine disorders; musculoskeletal conditions; and obstetric and gynecological conditions.

According to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt; "We need to become a society that thinks of staying healthy rather than simply being treated after we're sick. We need to create a culture of wellness in our society. This guide will assist physicians in selecting the right preventive service for the right patient in real time."

"This partnership is an excellent example of how the government and the private sector can work together to accomplish a common goal," said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. "We thank the United Health Foundation for making it feasible to put these valuable new resources into the hands of primary-care clinicians in the United States."

Reed Tuckson, M.D., United Health Foundation senior vice president, said: "Physicians deserve support and convenient access to the most reliable scientific evidence relevant to their clinical practice. We respect the work of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force as reflected in the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services and are pleased to provide this information free of charge to our nation's health professionals and those in training."

The mission of medical specialty societies, including the American Academy of Family Practice, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians and the American Osteopath Association, is to advance the components of professionalism for their members. They are trusted sources of information for their members. As such, the collaboration, which represents a combined membership of more than 400,000 health professionals, will provide unprecedented dissemination of this essential information.

Copies of the guide are available now, and AHRQ will also distribute the guide on request. For a free copy of the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, go to http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/pocketgd.htm or contact the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse at ahrqpubs@ahrq.hhs.gov or 800-358-9295.

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt will announce the new Guide to Clinical Preventive Services at the 2006 National Prevention Summit Oct. 26-27 in Washington, D.C. This year's summit will focus on disease prevention, health preparedness and health promotion and will feature innovative programs that are making a difference in communities nationwide to build a healthier United States.

About United Health Foundation

United Health Foundation is an independent not-for-profit foundation solely funded by UnitedHealth Group. The Foundation provides information to physicians and other health professionals, individuals and communities to support health and medical decisions that lead to better health outcomes and healthier communities. For further information, please visit www.unitedhealthfoundation.org.

Source: Business Wire

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