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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released the publication, A Step-by-Step Guide to Delivering Clinical Preventive Services: A Systems Approach. This new resource from AHRQ's Put Prevention Into Practice (PPIP) program will help guide clinicians in the development of a system for delivering clinical preventive services in their own primary care setting.
Research shows that the most effective and accepted preventive services are not delivered regularly in primary care practices. For example, in 1997 pneumococcal disease caused 10,000-14,000 deaths, but only 43 percent of people aged 65 and older received the pneumococcal vaccine.
The new guide guide describes easy-to-follow, logical steps for establishing preventive care protocols; defines staff roles for delivering and monitoring preventive care, determines patient and material flow, and readjusts delivery and system standards. The guide breaks the process of delivering clinical preventive services into small, manageable tasks and provides practical tools such as worksheets, health risk profiles, and preventive care flow sheets that can be customized for use in various clinical settings.
The guide was adapted from materials produced by the Texas Department of Health and is based on scientific and empirical evidence. It is designed to be effective in many settings. Physicians, nurses, health educators, and office staff have successfully implemented this systematic approach to delivering prevention in public health clinics, community health centers, and private practices.
In addition to the guide, the PPIP program offers other patient and provider materials that support the delivery of clinical preventive services in primary care settings. The PPIP program, based on the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, helps clinicians deliver appropriate preventive services in clinical practice and tells patients which preventive services they should expect their health care professionals to provide.
Copies of this publication and all other PPIP resources are available from the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse.
Select for more information on AHRQ's prevention programs.
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