The AJCC Patient Care Page is a service of the American Journal of Critical Care and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Designed to elaborate AACN practice guidelines based on content in select articles, this page may be photocopied noncommercially for use by readers in their workplace, in continuing education programs, or for distribution to colleagues, patients, or patients’ fa...

Clinical practice guidelines are evidence-based recommendations with the potential to improve population health, yet they remain inconsistently utilized. In this commentary we discuss barriers and drivers to implementing clinical practice guidelines. We also suggest ways to support their translation into practice.

The management of stroke in rural and regional areas is variable in both the developed and developing world. Informed by best-practice guidelines and recommendations for systems of stroke care, adaptable models of care that are appropriate for local needs should be devised for rural and regional settings. This review addresses the issue of the provision of appropriate services in rural and regi...

ASMBS pediatric committee best practice guidelines Marc Michalsky, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.A.P.*, Kirk Reichard, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.A.P., Thomas Inge, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.A.P., Janey Pratt, M.D., F.A.C.S., Carine Lenders, M.D., F.A.A.P. Chair, American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Pediatric Committee, Gainesville, Florida Co-Chair, American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surger...

Performance measurement and payment are increasingly linked to goals established by practice guidelines. The best guidelines are based on systematic reviews and patient-oriented evidence, use an evidence-rating system such as the Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy, and are prospectively validated. The guidelines also should have a transparent development process, identify potential conflicts o...

Surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is currently performed in many major hospitals throughout the world. This paper reviews the development of surgical procedures for AF ablation. It is hoped that the paper can provide a foundation for those involved with ablation of AF to improve patient care. AF is triggered by a rapidly firing focus and could be treated with a localized ablation pr...

We propose a probabilistically based incentive payment system for guideline implementation that provides rewards for physicians who follow practice guidelines and additional remuneration for physician leaders who engage in information sharing. All payments are based on observed outcomes of patient treatment. A fixed base payment forms the core of the system with probabilistic offsets calculated...

BACKGROUND The Aboriginal Women's Cancer Care Project used a participatory research model guided by an Aboriginal advisory group. METHODS The researchers attempted to conduct cancer research with 5 culturally and geographically different communities in North America. RESULTS We discuss the challenges of conducting ethical research in keeping with the emergent research principles of communit...

The management of critical trauma disease (CTD) has always trends the trends in military war experiences. These conflicts have historically revolutionized clinical concepts, clinical practice guidelines and medical devices, and have marked future lines of research and aspects of training and learning in severe trauma care. Moreover, in the civil setting, the development of intensive care, techn...