What are CPGs?

What are clinical practice guidelines?

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has defined “clinical practice guideline(s)” as follows: “a statement that has been systematically developed to assist physicians and patients in making decisions about appropriate medical services under specific clinical situations.” Later, in 2011, clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) were redefined as “statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care that are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of alternative care options.” The new definition clarifies two of the most important considerations in clinical decision-making by suggesting an evidence-based development methodology called “systematic review” and comparing and evaluating the benefits and harms of treatment. However, when developing CPGs, not only are the benefits and risks of medical practice taken into account, so too are the expertise of clinicians, patients’ values and preferences, costs, and available resources.
This is because clinical decisions should take into account many different factors.
The primary publishers of both domestic and international CPGs have been healthcare-related national institutions, research organizations, and academic societies. To ensure that CPGs are developed in a methodologically rigorous way, Korean research institutes recently developed and distributed a manual on CPG development, which researchers are actively using. In addition, the development of a credible CPG is effective in improving the overall quality of healthcare, as the quality of the guideline is assessed and managed continuously, and the guideline is applied to the national healthcare system.