Guide To Clinical Preventive Services: Report Of The United States Preventive Services Task Force

Guide to CLINICAL PREVENTIVE SERVICES SECOND EDITION Report of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES OFFICE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND SCIENCE OFFICE OF DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION Foreword It is a pleasure to present the second edition of the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, a thoroughly updated and expanded version of the 1989 landmark report of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The first edition of the Guideis widely regarded as the premier reference source on the effectiveness of clinical preventive services—screening tests for early detection of disease, immunizations to prevent infections, and counseling for risk reduction. In the past six years, dramatic changes have occurred in the health care system in the United States, with an increasing emphasis on the documentation and delivery of cost-effective, high-quality care. Thanks in large part to the previous work of the USPSTF, it is no longer questioned that appropriate preventive care belongs at the top of the list of effective interventions that must be available to all Americans. This new edition again carefully reviews the evidence for and against hundreds of preventive services, recommending a test, immunization, or counseling intervention only when there is evidence that it is effective. At a time when the leading causes of death are largely related to health-related behaviors—including tobacco use, poor diet, lack of physical activity, and alcohol use—it is particularly pertinent to highlight the importance of the health consequences of behavior. It remains extraordinarily important that physicians and other providers educate