AMERICAN-ACADEMY-OF-DERMATOLOGY GUIDELINES OF CARE - DEVELOPMENT AND PROCESS

Medical practice guidelines are being developed at an accelerating pac e, in all areas of medicine, for a wide range of uses. The field of pr actice guideline development is not new, but a number of important eco nomic and health care issues have renewed interest in their creation. In 1987, in response to many ol these issues, the American Academy of Dermatology took a leadership role and began a process designed to dev elop guidelines for disease entities treated by dermatologists. The re sult was a set of clinical practice guidelines and the most comprehens ive dermatology guideline development processes to date. Herein we des cribe the guideline development process in its current, refined form a nd discuss some of its unique and important characteristics. New appli cations of guidelines, outside of clinical practice improvement, have made their development controversial. Nevertheless, it is important fo r the medical profession to lead in this effort, and the American Acad emy of Dermatology continues to explore ways to refine and update its guidelines to reflect the latest medical science and technology.