How Clinical Practice Guidelines are Published on the Websites of Academic Societies of Clinical Medicine in Japan：A Review of the Present State

Abstract

　Development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in Japan became more active from around the year 2000. The objective of the present study was to clarify the present state of how clinical practice guidelines are published on the websites of academic societies of clinical medicine in Japan. In total, 355 academic societies were studied to determine whether they had created clinical practice guidelines. In the analysis, the academic societies were divided into two groups based on whether any clinical practice guidelines were listed in the Medical Information Network Distribution Service (Minds). Seven items were compared between the two groups to determine the present state of how clinical practice guidelines are published. Of the 355 academic societies, 108 (30.4％) had developed clinical practice guidelines. Academic societies whose guidelines were listed in Minds had many members, and a page link to the clinical practice guideline was shown on the index page of their websites (difference in proportions=27.3％, P=0.001). Many academic societies only published PDF files of their clinical practice guidelines on their websites. It is hoped that academic societies will publish their clinical practice guidelines on their websites, while taking into account utilization of the guidelines and user convenience.