As of March 6, 2008, "Chiropractic Management of Soft-Tissue Disorders," the fourth chapter in the Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practice Parameter's (CCGPP) evolving Clinical Compass, is available online for review and commentary.
until May 5. The draft chapter was written by CCGPP commission member Michael Schneider, DC, and colleagues. As with previous chapters, once comments are received and any revisions are made, the chapter will eventually be published in its final form as clinically relevant information for the chiropractic practice.
"Chiropractic Management of Low Back Pain and Low Back Related Leg Complaints," the first chapter comprising the Clinical Compass, was released for stakeholder review and comment in May 2006. That chapter has been issued in its final form and can be reviewed at www.ccgpp.org. According to the council, the next major revision of the chapter, expected to occur no later than December 2009, will "address pertinent new literature which has emerged in that interval."
The second draft chapter, "Chiropractic Management of Prevention and Health Promotion; Nonmusculoskeletal Conditions; and Conditions of the Elderly, Children and Pregnant Women," was posted online for stakeholder review in September 2007, while the third draft chapter, "Chiropractic Management of Upper Extremity Pain," was made available for review and commentary in October 2007. Comments are currently being reviewed and it is anticipated that final versions of the chapters will be released later this year.
According to the CCGPP, once completed, the Clinical Compass will differ from a standard guideline in that, while a guideline generally provides treatment recommendations and numbers of visits, a best-practices document will reflect research, clinical decision-making and patient values. This will allow practitioners to weigh the evidence, consider the clinical situation and select the appropriate treatment protocol for individual patients.
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