Primary Care Guidelines

Top Picks

These recommendations were selected by 5 clinicians (family physicians and a psychiatrist) as the most important to promote in any clinical practice or recommendations that pertain to health issues that are most commonly overlooked in patients with IDD

 Strongly recommend

A strong recommendation is one that can be supported without qualification by family physicians and other health professionals providing primary care. They can be confident that all the following conditions apply:

1. There are at least 3 types of knowledge supporting a recommendation or at least 2, one of which is in a category subtype indicated by a blue circle or .  This condition is taken to be an indication of the breadth, depth and special relevance of knowledge.
2. There is a greater balance of anticipated medical benefit or positive clinical impact over risk of harm;
3. Most people with IDD and their caregivers would find the intervention to be tolerable;
4. The family physician or other primary care provider would typically have the resources (eg, time, materials, training, supports) to engage in the approach or offer the intervention, or would be able to accommodate or advocate for the approach or intervention.
5. The approach or intervention is an effective use of resources, taking into consideration factors such as the impact on the time, priorities and out-of-pocket expenses of patients and their caregivers and the limits of the practice or health care system.

 Recommend

These actions have a good basis in current knowledge.  Family physicians and other health professionals providing primary care will need more extensive discussion than usual, however, with patients with IDD and caregivers and/or consultation with other health professionals, ethicists or health care administrators before deciding to implement the guideline.