A Summary of the Philippines UNITE for Diabetes Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Diabetes (Part I: Screening and Diagnosis of DM)

Abstract

Clinical practice guidelines are systematically developed statements intended to assist practitioners and patients in making decisions about appropriate health care.1 They are user-friendly statements that bring together the best external evidence (research) and clinical experience for rational decision-making about specific health problems. These recommendations are intended to improve the quality of medical care delivered by doctors or groups of doctors, leading to better outcomes such as disease prevention, prevention of complications, and an overall improvement in the quality and quantity of life of patients. For guidelines to be able to achieve these objectives they must ideally be evidence-based; adapted to the local setting; incorporate patients’ values in decision-making; and in a developing country like the Philippines, consider issues of equity.