Using the appropriateness method in clinical practice guideline development

Inappropriate health care is certainly costly and possibly injurious. Research assessments of the rate of delivery of inappropriate health care have shown substantial variations in the delivery of inappropriate care among providers and geographic regions. Clinical practice guidelines, presenting the collective judgment of clinical experts, have been promoted as a means to decrease undesirable variation in physician practice and thereby improve the quality of health care. This report presents the results of a pilot study of the use of the appropriateness method as part of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Clinical Practice Guideline development process.