Respiratory Guidelines Implementation in Canada

Louis-Philippe Boulet,Darcy Marciniuk,R Andrew Mcivor

doi:10.1155/2007/592534

Abstract

Practice guidelines on respiratory diseases have been published in Canada over the past two decades. Canada has led the way with regard to the production of evidence-based recommendations on optimal care, and guidelines are now available in a large variety of domains, both nationally and internationally. There was, however, until recently, no structured plan to ensure timely revision of Canadian respiratory guidelines, their rapid and effective dissemination, and particularly, no joint implementation strategy to help translate the recommendations into current care in the most effective way. Recognizing these limitations, the Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) has therefore established a new strategy to address those needs, with a particular focus on collaborative work to more efficiently review the guidelines so that more resources are devoted to their implementation, particularly in primary care.

Highlights

Practice guidelines on respiratory diseases have been published in Canada over the past two decades
Among the mandates of the Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) are those of assessing the situation with regard to respiratory care in Canada and contributing to ensure appropriate and up-to-date disease management, to reduce the burden of respiratory diseases on Canadians
Collaborations have been developed with international bodies, including the Global Initiative for Asthma guidelines and the American College of Chest Physicians, on various aspects of guidelines production, for this last, on the management of cough [8,9], occupational asthma and pulmonary vascular diseases

Summary

Introduction

Practice guidelines on respiratory diseases have been published in Canada over the past two decades. Evidenced-based management guidelines on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) [6] and other conditions such as sleep apnea syndrome [7] have been produced and disseminated, as well as various documents on standards of care in various domains of respiratory medicine.

Results

Conclusion