SAGES 2009 Annual Meeting
Surgical Spring Week Presentations

April 22-24, 2009
Phoenix Convention Center
Phoenix, Arizona

Guidelines Panel: Evidence-Based Guidelines –
They’re More Important Than You Might Think

Chair: Robert D. Fanelli, M.D.; Co-Chair: Liane S. Feldman, M.D.

This 90-minute session will use a combined presentation and panel discussion design to convey key points regarding the creation and use of SAGES evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Legal experts will discuss the manner in which regulators, insurers, and attorneys use clinical practice guidelines, and surgeons who are members of the SAGES Guidelines Committee will discuss recently created clinical practice guidelines and how to access them. The session moderators, panelists, and presenters will facilitate discussions regarding guidelines implementation in surgical practice, the role of clinical practice guidelines in improving patient care and safety, and the importance of participating in the process of creating guidelines.

Objectives:
After attending this session surgeons will be able to:

• Restate the process by which SAGES guidelines are created
• Explain the benefits that SAGES guidelines provide, and the potential drawbacks
• Find the SAGES guidelines as well as other tools like the National Guidelines Clearinghouse, to find other society’s guidelines
• Discuss how health insurers, regulators, and attorneys use guidelines
• Summarize the importance of guidelines, the value in using them, and the importance of participating in their creation