Administrative Order No. 2023-0002 entitled “Institutionalization of the Expanded National Practice Guidelines Program” mandates concerned DOH offices and attached agencies, and enjoins other stakeholders to use NPGs in the development of plans strategies and the delivery of individual- and population-based health services in clinical and public health settings.

CLINICIAN SUPPORT TOOLS

Recognizing the need to derive tools based on NPGs that will aid in the translation of policy into practice and sustain care quality, different clinician support tools are being developed in accordance with Administrative Order (AO) No. 2023-0002: Institutionalization of the Expanded National Practice Guidelines Program, AO No. 2022-0018: The Development and Utilization of the Omnibus Health Guidelines per Lifestage, and Department Memorandum No. 2022-0582: Interim Guidance on Developing Guideline Implementation Tools for the Omnibus Health Guidelines and Sample Clinician Support Tools for Hypertension.

Health Examination Forms (HEFs)
The HEFs are comprehensive history taking & physical examination forms which aim to standardize and maximize patient encounters, link routine and targeted screening tests for primary care and provide intuitive clinical decision support, to facilitate health information exchange between various providers and facilities within healthcare provider networks (HCPNs), and to ensure that relevant public health and surveillance data are obtained during patient encounters. the HEFs shall be adopted by and used as the main reference for electronic medical records fields and health risk assessment applications to optimize the impact of comprehensive health screening efforts. The complete details on the use of HEF including the user’s quick guide can be accessed through the Department Circular No. 2023:0556: Dissemination of the National Practice Guidelines Program Outputs for CY 2023 and Department Circular No. 2024-0401: Dissemination of the Health Examination Forms for Children one (1) to under five (5) years old, for Elderly 60 years old above, and for Antenatal Visits.

Disease-Specific Algorithms
The DOH leads the translation of NPGs into user-friendly Guideline Implementation Tools (GIT) such as Clinician Support Tools (CSTs), Patient Support Tools (PSTs), Implementation Support Tools (ISTs), and Evaluation Support Tools (ESTs). Disease-specific algorithms based on NPGs will be developed and disseminated yearly.