"Clinical practice guidelines are systematically developed statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances." 1, 2 Practice guidelines are used by diverse segments of the medical community to define and communicate standards of performance and care. To date, the American Medical Association has catalogued nearly 2,000 clinical practice guidelines or equivalent documents. 3 An additional source on practice Guidelines is the web site (National Guideline Clearinghouse) that is sponsored by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality in partnership with the American Medical Association and the American Association of Health Plans
