Current Clinical Practice Guidelines
In recent years, the process of developing clinical practice guidelines has undergone significant re-evaluation by national professional organizations including the American Medical Association and the National Academy of Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine). With an eye toward increasing rigor and improving transparency, these organizations have articulated principles that form the foundation for new standards of guideline development. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) have both published statements on their websites in support of these new standards.
Historically Beacon Health Options, Inc. (Beacon) and its legacy companies adopted clinical practice guidelines published by the APA, AACAP, and other professional organizations. This was based on their reputation as primary contributors and developers of guidelines representing acceptable standards of care at the time of origination.
Related to the continued evolution of clinical practice guideline development calling for higher standards of evidence, the industry currently has maintained or produced a limited number of guidelines that meet the new standards for guideline rigor and transparency. Accordingly, Beacon has reviewed and adopted the following guidelines that meet those standards:
- American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline on the Use of Antipsychotics to Treat Agitation or Psychosis in Patients with Dementia
Published 2016, Reviewed July 2018 - American Psychiatric Association Practice Guidelines for the Psychiatric Evaluation of Adults, Third Edition
Published 2016, Reviewed February 2020 - American Society of Addiction Medicine National Practice Guideline for the Use of Medications in the Treatment of Addiction Involving Opioid Use and Synopsis
Published 2015, Reviewed July 2018 - Center for Disease Control Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain – United States, 2016 (adopted by Beacon as treatment recommendation for primary care or pain specialty practitioners)
Published 2016, Reviewed March 2020 - American Society of Addiction Medicine Consensus Statement -Appropriate Use of Drug Testing in Clinical Addiction Medicine
Published 2017, Reviewed December 2019
See ASAM Public Policy Statement on the Ethical Use of Drug Testing in the Practice of Addiction Medicine under the Clinical Practice Resource Section below. - American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline for the Pharmacological Treatment of Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder
Published 2018, Reviewed February 2020 - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association Clinical Guidance for Treating Pregnant and Parenting Women with Opioid Use Disorder and Their Infants
Published 2018, Adopted May 2018 - American Pain Society and College on Problems of Drug Dependence Methadone Safety: A Clinical Practice Guideline from the American Pain Society and College on Problems of Drug Dependence, in Collaboration with the Heart Rhythm Society
Published 2014, Reviewed July 2018
Measurement of Clinical Practice Guidelines
With a goal of measuring Beacon’s network performance to best practices, Beacon has identified aspects of three (3) Clinical Practice Guidelines and Resources to assess via medical records. To review more information about the Provider Clinical Practice Performance Measurement, click here.
Clinical Practice Resources
The Clinical Practice Resources listed below are maintained separately from the Clinical Practice Guidelines listed above as the recommendations contained in the resource documents are more heavily based on expert consensus in areas where there is insufficient evidence in the literature base.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HHS Guide for Clinicians on the Appropriate Dosage Reduction or Discontinuation of Long-Term Opioid Analgesics
Published September 2019, Reviewed January 2020 - Suicide Prevention Resource Center Caring for Adult Patients with Suicide Risk: A Consensus Guide for Emergency Departments
Published June 2015, Reviewed January 2020 - American Society of Addiction Medicine Public Policy Statement on the Ethical Use of Drug Testing in the Practice of Addiction Medicine
Published 2019, Reviewed December 2019 - American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Practice Parameters for Eating Disorders
Published 2015, Reviewed June 2019 - Department of Veteran’s Affairs and Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Substance Use Disorders (SUD)
Published 2015, Reviewed May 2017 - The United States Surgeon General Facing Addiction in American – The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health
Published 2016, Adopted June 2017 - National Institute of Mental Health Supplemental Information from NIH
Published 2016, Adopted July 2018 - American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinical Update: Telepsychiatry with Children and Adolescents
Published 2017, Adopted April 2018 - Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement Major Depression in Adults in Primary Care Guideline and Executive Summary
Published 2016, Reviewed December 2016 - National Action Alliance For Suicide Prevention: Recommended Standard Care for People with Suicide Risk: Making Health Care Suicide Safe
Published 2018, Reviewed May 2019 - American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Reactive Attachment Disorder and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder
Published 2016, Reviewed July 2019 - American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Management of Youth Involved with the Child Welfare System
Published 2015, Reviewed July 2019 - Clinical Management of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Huntington Disease: Expert-Based Consensus Guidelines on Agitation, Anxiety, Apathy, Psychosis and Sleep Disorders
Published: 2018, Reviewed September 2019
The Beacon Health Options Scientific Review Committee (SRC) reviews and/or updates current guidelines or those required by individual contracts at least every two years. Historical guidelines are provided for informational purposes only and are not subject to the same review.