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UPDATE October 2009 - New Australian Consumer and Carer Guidelines now available The Australian versions of RANZCP's Consumer and Carer Clinical Practice Guidelines have recently been updated and reprinted to ensure continued supply of this valued resource. These booklets are provided free of charge and are a valuable resource to support consumers, their carers, families and friends in learning more about mental illness and the treatments that are available. The funding for this initiative was provided by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. To request copies of the booklets please download the request form by clicking the link below, and send the completed form to RANZCP as per the instructions provided. Please note that this form will need to be either saved to your computer or printed – it is not an online form. When returning by email, the form must be included as an attachment. Click here to download the request form (.doc) Alternatively, the updated guidelines can be downloaded electronically using the links at the right hand side of this webpage. Unfortunately, at this time the New Zealand versions of the consumer and carer treatment guides are out-of-print. Please access the electronic versions available for download on the right hand side of this web page. The RANZCP has developed Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) to provide mental health practitioners, consumers, and carers with evidence-based information about particular mental illnesses and appropriate treatment options.
These have been developed with the support of both the Australian and New Zealand Governments.
The CPGs address six specific disorders or conditions that have considerable impact on psychiatric practice in Australia and New Zealand, as expressed from both the psychiatric profession and consumers. These are: - Anorexia nervosa;
- Bipolar disorder;
- Deliberate self harm (youth and adult);
- Depression;
- Panic disorder and agoraphobia; and
- Schizophrenia.
For each disorder or condition, two Guidelines have been developed – one for consumers and carers, and one for mental health clinicians (summary and full versions). Links to the Guidelines are provided below.
The CPGs:
- Systematically evaluate research evidence;
- Were developed by representatives from a range of professional groups, as well as consumers;
- Are specifically designed to assist, rather than dictate, clinical decision-making; and
- Are to be applied on a case-by-case basis.
The Guidelines are current at the time of publication but, because they are evidence-based, they will inevitably become out of date as new research emerges regarding established and novel treatments.
Therefore a crucial aspect of implementing the Guidelines will be ensuring that they are reviewed on a regular basis.
Consumer/carer versions of the Guidelines Companion guides for patients and carers aim to facilitate shared and informed decision-making.
They are increasingly being trialed to provide better information about appropriate and inappropriate treatment options.
The guides have been developed using extensive input from consumer writers, researchers and reviewers. Clinician Versions of the Guidelines Clinician Guidelines are systematically developed statements to assist practitioners in making decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances.
Their main purpose is to improve health outcomes for patients by improving the practice of clinicians and their benefits include providing: - Recommendations for appropriate care based on scientific evidence and consensus, while leaving room for justifiable variations in practice and clinical judgment in individual circumstances;
- Useful summaries of the scientific literature on treatment benefits and harms;
- Support for professional standards, quality improvement activities and education; and
- A basis for comparing current practice to evidence based ‘best practice’.
The following Clinician Versions of the Guidelines were published in Australasian Psychiatry in 2003:
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