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Health Supervision & Clinical Practice Guidelines

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Clinical Guidelines for Care of Children with Medical Complexity

Health supervision and clinical practice guidelines typically are developed and/or adopted by national organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), expert working groups, or other knowledgeable bodies. These organizations periodically review and update the guidelines or decide to stop using them if they are no longer the standard of care (or if resources are lacking to update them).
Cover of Bright Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents
Health supervision guidelines provide anticipatory guidance and recommendations for pediatric health promotion at well-child visits for patients ages 0-21 years old. The AAP compiles these evidence-based standards into a comprehensive resource known as Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision, 4th Edition (AAP). The 4th edition was published in February 2017. The materials include print and electronic books as well as a free to download 2021 Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule (AAP) (PDF Document 119 KB) and Bright Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision - Pocket Guide, 4th Edition (AAP) (PDF Document 5.1 MB).

Cover of Pediatric Clinical Practice Guidelines and Policies 17th ed
Clinical practice guidelines provide an evidence-based framework for clinical decisions and include recommendations for optimizing patient care. The Pediatric Clinical Practice Guidelines & Policies, 22nd Edition (AAP) is a book periodically updated and endorsed by the AAP. The 22nd edition was published in 2021. The book includes practice guidelines for many diagnoses ranging from autism spectrum disorder to urinary tract infections and the management of febrile infants. It also contains updated policy statements, technical reports, and clinical reports through December 2021.

Clinical Guidelines for Children & Adolescents with Complex Medical Needs

AAP-endorsed practice guidelines can assist primary care providers in caring for children with special health care needs. Some of these are cross-cutting, looking at practice models to implement team-based care and patient- and family-centered medical home models; others are specific to a certain medical or genetic condition. The Medical Home Portal provides information about these models of care at:
The following are particularly relevant to the overall care of the child or adolescent with special health care needs:
Guidelines for specific conditions can be found at Diagnoses & Conditions by selecting a condition name from the list and scrolling to the Practice Guidelines section of the module.

Resources

Information & Support

For Professionals

American Academy of Pediatrics Publications Search for Guidelines and Policies (AAP)
A search engine to identify clinical practice guidelines, health supervision guidelines, clinical reports, and other policies published or endorsed by the AAP.

Council on Children with Disabilities Policies & Reports (AAP)
A list of policies pertaining to the care of children with disabilities; American Academy of Pediatrics.

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Practice Parameters (AACAP)
Clinical practice guidelines for child mental health, which include topics such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, use of psychotropic medications, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth issues.

American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics Practice Guidelines (ACMG)
Screening and genetic testing guidelines and algorithms for a variety of genetic conditions.

American Academy of Neurology Child Neurology Practice Guidelines (AAN)
A compilation of practice guidelines for a variety of congenital and acquired neurological conditions affecting children, including headaches, epilepsy, concussion, cerebral palsy, global developmental delay, and sudden hearing loss.

Pediatric Clinical Practice Guidelines & Policies, 22nd Edition (AAP)
Published in 2022, this book includes practice guidelines for many diagnoses ranging from autism spectrum disorder to urinary tract infections. It also contains policies ranging from addressing early childhood emotional and behavioral problems to preventing obesity. The 22nd edition was published in 2022 and is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Bright Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision - Pocket Guide, 4th Edition (AAP) (PDF Document 5.1 MB)
A uniform set of recommendations for health care professionals that highlights 12 child health topics and contains an abbreviated version for healthy child visits; American Academy of Pediatrics.

Authors & Reviewers

Initial publication: March 2013; last update/revision: February 2023
Current Authors and Reviewers:
Author: Claire K Turscak, MD, MS
Reviewer: Jennifer Goldman, MD, MRP, FAAP
Authoring history
2017: update: Jennifer Goldman, MD, MRP, FAAPA
2013: first version: Chuck Norlin, MDA
AAuthor; CAContributing Author; SASenior Author; RReviewer