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Home  Resources Publications Clinical Practice Guidelines
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Clinical Practice Guidelines |
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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The Guidelines are current at the time of publication but, because they are evidence-based, they will inevitably become out of date as new research emerges regarding established and novel treatments.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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Consumer/carer versions
Anorexia Nervosa 
|  | Australian
Version
| New Zealand
Version
| Bipolar Disorder 
|  | Australian
Version | New Zealand
Version
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Deliberate Self Harm  | 
| Australian
Version | New Zealand
Version |
Depression  | 
| Australian
Version | New Zealand
Version |
Panic Disorder and
Agoraphobia  | 
| Australian
Version | New Zealand
Version |
Schizophrenia  |  | Australian
Version | New Zealand
Version |
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