Clinical guidelines for dentistry: will they be useful?
If guidelines are to be effective they should be (i) based on high levels of scientific evidence, (ii) developed with input from the dentists who will be using them and (iii) presented in a satisfactory manner. Importantly, the effectiveness of the guidelines should be rigorously evaluated.
The USPSTF recommendation to screen adults for depression in primary care settings when staff-assisted depression management programs are available is not supported by evidence from any RCTs that are directly relevant to the recommendation. The USPSTF should re-evaluate this recommendation. Please see related article: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/12/14 REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (#CRD42013004276).