AHCPR: To Announce 12 Tops for New Guidelines

      The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research this week announced it will issue recommendations this year for translating 12 new treatments and tests into medical practice. AHCPR Administrator Dr. John Eisenberg said the guidelines will "help close the gap between what we know and what we do in preventive medicine." The Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of preventive health experts, will review screening for diabetes, depression and high cholesterol. In pediatrics, the task force will issue recommendations concerning hearing screening for newborns and developmental screening for children. For cancer care, the panel will review the use of tamoxifen and related drugs to prevent breast cancer, skin cancer screening, and the use of vitamin supplements such as folate, beta carotene and vitamins E and C to prevent cancer and heart disease. For reproductive health, the task force will review bacterial vaginosis screening during pregnancy, counseling to reduce unwanted pregnancies, postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy and chlamydia screening. David Atkins, coordinator for clinical preventive services, will accept other nominations for consideration by the task force, which will publish its recommendations in the third edition of Guide to Clinical Preventive Services. Earlier editions are available at www.guideline.gov (AHCPR release, 3/22).