Guidelines and Protocols Advisory Committee (GPAC)
The Guidelines and Protocols Advisory Committee was formed as an advisory committee to the Medical Services Commission, to develop and publish clinical practice guidelines for physicians in British Columbia (BC). As a collaborative committee with representation from both the Ministry of Health Services, and the British Columbia Medical Association, GPAC has risen to the challenge of both supporting effective utilization of medical services in BC, as well as supporting adoption of clinical practice guidelines by health care providers across the province.
Keeping Up with Health Care in BC
GPAC has engaged clinical experts in BC to evaluate clinical evidence, and publish on numerous conditions, with particular focus on circumstances in BC. GPAC has remained a “developed by BC physicians”, “for BC physicians” producer of guidelines. With over 50 guidelines in its roster, GPAC has remained at the forefront of health care issues addressing true gaps in care through the development of new clinical practice guidelines such as “Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack – Management and Prevention”. Current updates to an already comprehensive inventory of clinical conditions include the revision and publication of two major guidelines, “Osteoarthritis in Peripheral Joints – Diagnosis and Treatment”, and “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease”. GPAC has also developed guidelines which address specific patient populations such as the recently published “Anxiety and Depression in Children and Youth - Diagnosis and Treatment”.
On the Leading Edge of Clinical Practice Guidelines
In response to the needs of a new technologically savvy audience, GPAC has embraced modern technology as a tool to improve accessibility and uptake of clinical practice guidelines. In addition to PDF and HTML formats, GPAC clinical practice guidelines are now available in multiple electronic formats as “CliniPearls”, available on Personal Digital Assistant, Blackberry, and coming soon in the spring, iTouch and iPhone platforms. Click here for more information.
Physician Engagement
One of the major challenges of any guideline producer is implementation of the guideline recommendations into clinical practice. GPAC has taken a very engaged approached with physicians for the development and implementation of GPAC guidelines. GPAC physicians act as Chairs of working committees for the development of the guidelines, and also act as champions for guideline implementation, engaging in speaking opportunities at medical conferences within their area of expertise. Through GPAC Physician Champions, GPAC guidelines are now integrated into medical school programs, and form the basis of teaching modules forming the foundation for the development of case studies for university medical programs and medical resident training programs. GPAC also continues its outreach program supporting physicians through the availability of interactive displays at continuing medical education conferences and special events, allowing health care providers to engage with program staff, providing feedback on specific guidelines, and the GPAC program in general.
Recognition
GPAC recently received recognition from the Medical Services Commission for acceptance of 4 of GPAC’s most influential clinical practice guidelines by the National Guidelines Clearinghouse, a comprehensive and universally recognized database of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. GPAC’s reputation for producing high-quality guidelines has resulted in many organizations approaching GPAC for partnering on the development of condition-specific guidelines. One such example of a collaborative partnership has been with the BC Cancer Agency, with the first successful product of such collaboration, the publication of Part 1 of a 3 part series on Palliative Care, scheduled for release in the spring of 2010.
GPAC provides practical recommendations to practitioners for effective patient care, with particular emphasis on circumstances in BC.
GPAC aims to:
- Encourage appropriate responses to common medical situations
- Recommend actions that are sufficient and efficient, neither excessive or deficient
- Permit exceptions when justified by clinical circumstances
For more information on GPAC, please visit their website at BCGuidelines.ca.
To view previous Celebrating Achievements click here.
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