National Guideline Clearinghouse

National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) was a database of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The NGC was created in 1998 and ceased operations in July 2018 due to federal funding cuts.

Overview

The National Guideline Clearinghouse was a public resource for summaries of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. The NGC used inclusion criteria to ensure that the guidelines in the database were of high quality, based on a systematic review of the evidence. The database included guidelines developed by medical specialty societies, professional associations, and government agencies.

History

The National Guideline Clearinghouse was established in 1998 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), in partnership with the American Medical Association and the American Association of Health Plans (now America's Health Insurance Plans). The goal of the NGC was to provide physicians and other health professionals, health care providers, health plans, integrated delivery systems, purchasers, and others an accessible mechanism for obtaining objective, detailed information on clinical practice guidelines and to further their dissemination, implementation, and use.

In July 2018, the NGC was shut down due to federal funding cuts. The website was taken offline and the database is no longer accessible.

Impact

The National Guideline Clearinghouse was a valuable resource for healthcare professionals and researchers. It provided a centralized location for accessing and comparing guidelines from different organizations. The NGC also provided a standardized format for presenting guidelines, making it easier to compare and contrast different guidelines.

See also

• Clinical practice guideline
• Evidence-based medicine
• Healthcare in the United States