A new document to help physicians make clinical decisions regarding patient care is now available from the Academy.
"Recommendations for Periodic Health Examination" from the Commission on Clinical Policies and Research replaces as Academy policy the "Age Charts for Periodic Health Examination," says Herbert F. Young, MD, the commission's staff executive.
"We have made several changes in both the content and the general information of the recommendations," Dr. Young says. "One of the major differences is that the new recommendations are divided into standards and guidelines using the AAFP definitions. There are recommendations for the general population and for specific groups. Finally, there is also a list of interventions that are not recommended."
Dr. Young says all the recommendations in this revision--the first major one since 1990--were created with evidence-based information. The rigorous analysis in the US Preventive Services Task Force's Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, 2nd edition, provided most of the basis for the revision.
"By considering not only outcomes but also cost and patient preference considerations, we were able to divide the recommendations into standards and guidelines," says Dr. Young.
AAFP members can obtain copies of the revised exam recommendations (item #R962) at http://www.aafp.org/exam on the AAFP Web site, by calling the AAFP Order Department at (800) 944-0000.