PROforma is a language for describing the actions, information and decisions required in patient care. It is the basis of a method for defining best-practice guidelines, research protocols and other procedures in a form that can be enacted by a computer to help clinical professionals comply with preferred practice. Use of the method consists of outlining the clinical tasks required by the proce...

BACKGROUND Falls in older adults are a major public health concern due to high prevalence, impact on health outcomes and quality of life, and treatment costs. Physical therapists can play a major role in reducing fall risk for older adults; however, existing clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) related to fall prevention and management are not targeted to physical therapists. OBJECTIVE The pur...

The Singapore Cancer Network (SCAN) guidelines on systemic therapy published in this special issue represent the fi rst effort by Singapore oncologists to develop a national consensus on cancer care. Nine specialist workgroups, involving over 70 subspecialists from both the public and private sectors, have written 15 guidelines, defi ning a framework for systemic treatments of nearly all common...

OBJECTIVES The overall objective of this article was to review the theoretical and conceptual dimensions of how the implementation of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) is likely to affect treatment costs. METHODS An important limitation of the extant literature on the cost effects of CPGs is that the main focus has been on clinical adaptation. We submit that the process innovation aspects o...

The following article is a summary of the American Geriatrics Society/British Geriatrics Society Clinical Practice Guideline for Prevention of Falls in Older Persons (2010). This article provides additional discussion of the guideline process and the differences between the current guideline and the 2001 version and includes the guidelines' recommendations, algorithm, and acknowledgments. The c...

Clinical trials increasingly occured in Asia during the past years as pharmaceutical industries embraced globalization in the clinical research fields. The trend is true with phase III clinical trials but not for early stage/phase I clinical trials in Asian countries is still under-represented. The conduct of phase I clinical trials is considered more sophisticated and difficult than the later ...

BACKGROUND It is unclear whether global experts with financial conflicts of interest (FCOIs) should be included in, be excluded from, or have a limited role in developing international clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). Optimal management of FCOIs to ensure independent, expert CPGs remains ethically contested. OBJECTIVE To manage FCOIs and examine whether an ethics framework with discussion...

The UNFOLD project, funded by the European Commission, runs a Community of Practice for Teachers and Learning Providers which has examined the way in which teachers can work with the IMS Learning Design Specification. The results of this work is presented. Relevant aspects of the specification are discussed, in particular the design process as it is set out in the Best Practice Guide. Two main ...

Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) are tools, developed by and for practitioners, to assist in clinical decision making. They are designed to enhance, not replace, clinical judgement and expertise. Well-developed guidelines use the evidence-based approach. The research evidence related to a topic is assembled in a systematic, comprehensive and unbiased manner. Recommendations are made based on...

This document reflects emerging clinical and scientific advances on the date issued and is subject to change. The information should not be construed as dictating an exclusive course of treatment or procedure to be followed. Local institutions can dictate amendments to these opinions. They should be well documented if modified at the local level. None of these contents may be reproduced in any ...