Clinical Practice Guideline Initiatives in Ontario
The Guideline Advisory Committee (GAC), a joint committee of the Ontario Medical
Association and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, is a group established under
the auspices of the OMA-MOHLTC Comprehensive Agreement and is chaired by Dr. Dave Davis of
the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto.
The Committee mandate is as follows:
- Develop and recommend to the Physician Services Committee (PSC) appropriate strategies
for the implementation and monitoring of practice and referral guidelines.
- Make recommendations for assisting in the implementation of prescribing guidelines.
- Consult widely with the profession in the development of its recommendations.
As part of its activities the GAC is assessing clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) in
order to make them more accessible to practicing physicians. The goal is to assess
published guidelines in a number of clinical areas using an "Appraisal Instrument for
Clinical Guidelines" (Cluzeau et al, 1997). Workshops are held across the
province to recruit and train community-based physicians to use this methodology.
Recognizing that the GAC requires input from a number of different organizations to
help carry out its mandate, a group of representatives from key stakeholder organizations
across the province has been convened to form the Ontario Guideline Collaborative.
It is anticipated that this group will develop innovative strategies to ensure that
recommended clinical practice guidelines are disseminated to Ontario physicians and
implemented into local practice. More details about the Guideline Advisory
Committee's efforts to identify well-developed guidelines and some of the strategies being
proposed for their dissemination, implementation and evaluation, are found in
"Promoting Effective Guideline Use in Ontario" in the July 24, 2001 issue of the
Canadian Medical Association Journal. CMAJ - July 24, 2001 issue
The GAC has recently launched a website with recommended guidelines in 10 clinical
areas and would appreciate feedback. You can access the site at: www.gacguidelines.ca
For more information on GAC initiatives, please contact Erin Gilbart, Research
Coordinator at (416) 946-7108 or e-mail: erin.gilbart@utoronto.ca.
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