Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Accepts ReedGroup’s MDGuidelines

WESTMINSTER, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ReedGroup®, a leading international provider of health and productivity solutions, is today announcing the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC)—a program of the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)—has accepted ReedGroup’s MDGuidelines® for Low Back Disorders and Cervical and Thoracic Spine Disorders.

The NGC uses exacting criteria to objectively review guidelines, and publishes only guidelines that meet the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) criteria for transparent, reproducible, high-quality guidelines. In 2014, the NGC revised its guideline inclusion criteria to align with advances in Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust (CPG) development, and the revised inclusion criteria reflect the IOM’s more rigorous standards.

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In addition to meeting NGC’s guideline inclusion criteria, ReedGroup’s MDGuidelines were held up against the IOM’s Systematic Review (SR), which comprehensively evaluates evidence and takes into account search strategies, study descriptions, syntheses and summaries of evidence, systematic review bases, and more. MDGuidelines also were evaluated to ensure they maintained documentation demonstrating each guideline’s recommendations considered the assessment of benefits and harms of recommended care and alternative care options.

MDGuidelines incorporates the gold standard ACOEM Practice Guidelines that provide evidence-based recommendations for diagnostic and treatment practices and are based upon a systematic review of evidence, and its recommendations optimize patient care and assist health care providers and patients in making decisions about appropriate health care. The ACOEM Practice Guidelines adhere to the highest standards set forth by the IOM, AGREE II, AMSTAR, and GRADE.

“In our view, the NGC is doing great work to ensure that U.S. healthcare providers are given the best evidence-based guidelines, and MDGuidelines is honored to be a part of that,” said Joe Guerriero, senior vice president of MDGuidelines at ReedGroup. “The requirements of value-based care continue to heighten so healthcare organizations, employers and all industry stakeholders need a clear and proven treatment roadmap for their patients and employees. This means the guidelines used must truly be evidence-based, otherwise, the safety of U.S. workers is at stake.”

Learn more about MDGuidelines.

About ReedGroup

ReedGroup, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America®, is a leading health and productivity organization providing services to over half of the Fortune 100 companies. With more than 2000 employees, ReedGroup has operations across the United States, Canada, and India. ReedGroup’s flagship product, MDGuidelines, is the industry’s leading solution for total health management and workplace productivity. MDGuidelines features the world’s most trusted disability duration estimates and evidence-based Practice Guidelines from ACOEM. MDGuidelines is a proven approach to managing and measuring the impact of evidence-based care across entire populations.