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The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is partnering with United Health Foundation to distribute more than 400,000 copies of the 2006 Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, a new guide to evidence-based clinical preventive services recommendations, to clinicians nationwide. This guide is designed to assist clinicians in selecting the right preventive service for the right patient in real time. It is just one part of a larger HHS prevention initiative designed to promote preventive health care to both patients and clinicians. The guide contains 53 new or revised recommendations from the AHRQ-sponsored U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which is the leading independent panel of private-sector experts in prevention and primary care and conducts rigorous, impartial assessments of the scientific evidence for a broad range of preventive services. Its recommendations are considered the gold standard for clinical preventive services. 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. The mission of the United Health Foundation is to support the health and medical decisions made by physicians, health professionals, community leaders and individuals that lead to better health outcomes and healthier communities. |