Practice Guidelines
Preventive and clinical practice guidelines are based on the health needs and opportunities for improvement identified as part of the Quality Assurance Program Improvement (QAPI) program. Whenever possible, Sunflower Health Plan adopts preventive and clinical practice guidelines that are published by nationally recognized organizations or government institutions as well as state-wide collaborative and/or a consensus of healthcare professionals in the applicable field.
Preventative Care
- American Cancer Society Guidelines for the Early Detection of Cancer (Revised May 2018) - American Cancer Society (ACS)
- Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations - U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
- Guidelines on Periodicity of Examination, Preventive Dental Services, Anticipatory Guidance/Counseling, and Oral Treatment for Infants, Children, and Adolescents (Revised 2018) - American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
- Periodicity Schedule: Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care (2020) - American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
- American Geriatrics Society 2019 Updated AGS Beers Criteria® for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults - American Geriatrics Society (AGS)
- Managing Medicines for Adults Receiving Social Care in the Community (2017) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- Adult Immunization Schedule - Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Recommended adult immunization schedule for ages 19 years and older, United States 2020
- Birth-18 Years & "Catch-up" Immunization Schedules - Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Recommended child and adolescent Immunization Schedule for ages 18 years or younger, United States, 2020
- Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) - United States, 2019-20 Influenza Season - Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)
Final Recommendation Statement Gonorrhea and Chlamydia: Screening, September 2014 - U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
- CDC’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Advisory Committee On Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention (ACCLPP)
- Recommendations for Blood Lead Screening of Medicaid-Eligible Children Aged 1-5 Years: an Updated Approach to Targeting a Group at High Risk (Last Reviewed 07/28/2009) - Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning, Division of Environmental and Emergency Health Services, and National Center for Environmental Health
- AFP by Topic: Prenatal (Publication dates vary) - American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
- AFP by Topic: Labor, Delivery, and Post-Partum Issues (Publication dates vary) - American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
- Guidelines for Perinatal Care, Eighth Edition (2017) - The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Available online for ACOG members only.
Disease Management
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institute of Health; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Asthma Care Quick Reference Diagnosing and managing asthma. Guidelines from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. Expert Panel Report 3 (Revised 2012)
- Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma (Full Report July 2007) and Changes to the Guidelines (August 2008)
- 2020 GINA Report, Global Strategy For Asthma Management and Prevention - Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA)
- Low Back Pain, Adult Acute and Subacute (Updated March 2018) - Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI)
- Diagnosis and treatment of low back pain: a joint clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society (February 5, 2008) - American College of Physicians; American Pain Society
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Diagnosis and Treatment of Low Back Pain (PDF) (2017) - Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense (VA/DoD)
- Noninvasive Treatments for Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Low Back Pain: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American College of Physicians (April 2017) - American College of Physicians
- Radiation Therapy for the Whole Breast: An American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Evidence-Based Guidelines (PDF) - American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)
- ASTRO/ASCO/AUA Guideline on Hypofractionation for Localized Prostate Cancer, November 2018 - - American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)
- AUA/ASTRO/SUO Guideline on Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer, April 2017 - American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)
- ASCO Guidelines by Clinical Area - American Society of Clinical Oncology
- NCCN Guidelines® & Clinical Resources - National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)
The Care of Children With Congenital Heart Disease in Their Primary Medical Home (2017) - American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC)
- Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (PDF) (2019 Report) - The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD)
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (2014 – update in progress) - United States Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD)
- Integrated Guidelines for Cardiovascular Health and Risk Reduction in Children and Adolescents. The Report of the Expert Panel (PDF) (October 2012) - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- ACC/AHA Prevention Guideline: 2013 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk. (Circulation. 2014; 129:S49-S73) (Published online November 2013) - American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association Task Force
- Routine Assessment and Promotion of Physical Activity in Healthcare Settings; A scientific statement from the American heart association (Circulation. 2018; 137:e495–e522) - American Heart Association (AHA)
- AHA Scientific Statement: Secondary Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Older Adults (Circulation. 2013; 128:2422-2446) American Heart Association
- AHA/ACC/ASH Scientific Statement Treatment of Hypertension in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease (Circulation 2015; 131:e435-e470) - American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and American Society of Hypertension
- AHA/ACCF Guideline: AHA/ACCF Secondary Prevention and Risk Reduction Therapy for Patients with Coronary and Other Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease, 2011 Update (Circulation. 2011; 124: 2458-2473) - American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology Foundation
- 2019 AHA/ACCF Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACC)
Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International Guidelines for Management of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock: 2016 - Society of Critical Care Medicine and European Society of Intensive Care Medicine.
- AACE/ACE Consensus Statement: Consensus Statement by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and American College of Endocrinology on the Comprehensive Type 2 Diabetes Management Algorithm-2020 Executive Summary (PDF) (Endocrine Practice 2020; Volume 26, No.1) - American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and American College of Endocrinology
- Clinical Practice Recommendations – 2020. Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes (Diabetes Care 2020, Volume 43, Supplement 1) - American Diabetes Association (ADA)
Guidelines by Topic: Epilepsy American Academy of Neurology and American Epilepsy Society
Choosing Wisely (2018) - Choosing Wisely; American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation
- 2017 ACC/AHA/HFSA Focused Update of the 2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure: A Report of the ACC, AHA and HFSA (Circulation. 2017; CIR.0000000000000509, originally published April 28, 2017) - American College of Cardiology (ACC) Foundation, American Heart Association (AHA) Task Force on Practice Guidelines and the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA)
- Updated Clinical Practice Guidelines on Heart Failure: An International Alignment (April 2017) - American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC) Foundation, Heart Failure Society of American (HFSA), and the Heart Failure Association and the European Society of Cardiology
NHF‐McMaster Guideline on Care Models for Hemophilia Management (2017) - National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF)
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection: Screening (2019) - United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
- Prevention of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection: Preexposure Prophylaxis (2019) - United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
- Routine Human Immunodeficiency Virus Screening (2014) - American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
- Recommendations for the Use of Antiretroviral Drugs in Pregnant Women with HIV Infection and Interventions to Reduce Perinatal HIV Transmission in the United States (2019) - National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Lipid Management in Adults (February 2017) - Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI)
- ACC/AHA Prevention Guideline: 2013 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Treatment of Blood Cholesterol to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk in Adults (Circulation 2014; 129:S1-S45) - American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines
2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults; A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines - Journal of the American College of Cardiology (ACC)
Transitions of Care in the Long-Term Care Continuum Clinical Practice Guidelines 2010 (PDF) - American Medical Directors Association
CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain (August 28, 2019) - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis (2010) - American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE)
- ACOG Practice Bulletin N. 129. Osteoporosis (2012) - American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
Palliative Care for Adults (January 2020) - Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI)
- Management of Adults With Hospital-acquired and Ventilator-associated Pneumonia: 2016 Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Thoracic Society (PDF) (2016) - Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)
- The Management of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Infants and Children Older Than 3 Months of Age: Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (PDF) (2011) - Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)
- Adult and Pediatric treatment recommendations (Adult reviewed Oct. 2017, Pediatric Feb. 2017) - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- AFP by Topic: Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (Publication dates vary) - American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
- Diagnosis and Treatment of Respiratory Illness in Children and Adults (Updated September 2017) - Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI)
American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (2019) - American College of Rheumatology (ACR)
- Sickle Cell Disease, Recommendations (Last reviewed Aug. 9, 2017) - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Evidence-Based Management of Sickle Cell Disease. Expert Panel Report (PDF), 2014 - National Institutes of Health Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Standards for Systems of Care for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs - Association Of Maternal And Child Health Programs and the National Academy For State Health Policy
- Committee Opinion 721: Smoking Cessation During Pregnancy (PDF) (Oct. 2017) - American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
- Smoking and Tobacco Use Cessation - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Tobacco Smoking Cessation in Adults, Including Pregnant Women: Behavioral and Pharmacotherapy Interventions (2015 – update in progress) - United Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
- Tobacco Use in Children and Adolescents: Primary Care Interventions (2013 – update in progress) - United Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
Management of Concussion-mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) - United States Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD)
- Adult Weight Management (AWM) Guideline (2014) - Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- Clinical Report: Preventing Obesity and Eating Disorders in Adolescents. (Pediatrics Vol. 138 Iss.3 Sept. 2016 pp.1834-1842) - American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
- Managing Overweight and Obesity in Adults: Systematic Evidence Review from the Obesity Expert Panel (2013) - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Final Recommendation Statement Obesity in Children and Adolescents: Screening, June 2017 - U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
- Clinical practice guideline for multicomponent behavioral treatment of obesity and overweight in children and adolescents (PDF) (March 2018) - American Psychological Association (APA)
For Healthcare Providers: New Zika and Dengue Testing Guidance (November 2019) - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)