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Update on the Methods of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: Insufficient Evidence
- Diana B. Petitti, MD, MPH;
- Steven M. Teutsch, MD;
- Mary B. Barton, MD, MPP;
- George F. Sawaya, MD;
- Judith K. Ockene, PhD, MEd;
- Thomas DeWitt, MD; and
- on behalf of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
- From Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona; Merck & Co., West Point, Pennsylvania; Center for Primary Care, Prevention and Clinical Partnerships, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, Maryland; University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California; University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts; and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Abstract
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) seeks to provide reliable and accurate evidence-based recommendations to primary care clinicians. However, clinicians indicate frustration with the lack of guidance provided by the USPSTF when the evidence is insufficient to make a recommendation. This article describes a new USPSTF plan to commission its Evidence-based Practice Centers to collect information in 4 domains pertinent to clinical decisions about prevention and to report this information routinely. The 4 domains are potential preventable burden, potential harm of the intervention, costs (both monetary and opportunity), and current practice. The process and rationale used to select these domains are presented, along with examples of how clinicians might use the information to guide clinical decision making when evidence is insufficient.
Article and Author Information
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Potential Financial Conflicts of Interest: None disclosed.
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Requests for Single Reprints: Reprints are available on the AHRQ Web site (http://www.preventiveservices.ahrq.gov).
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Current Author Addresses: Dr. Petitti: Department of Biomedical Informatics, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85041.
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Dr. Teutsch: Outcomes Research, Merck & Co., West Point, PA 19486.
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Dr. Barton: Center for Primary Care, Prevention and Clinical Partnerships, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD 20850.
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Dr. Sawaya: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143.
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Dr. Ockene: Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655.
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Dr. DeWitt: Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229.
