The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s National Guidelines Clearinghouse (NGC) has been defunded by President Donald Trump’s administration, and will shut down July 16.
The clearinghouse, according to a STAT report, is home to some 4,000 guidelines which have been summarized by the agency. AHRQ says the site draws some 200,000 visitors each month.
Although the guidelines will still be available elsewhere, individuals will have to put in more legwork to find them.
“Killing these resources to save a few hundred thousand dollars per year is a penny-wise, pound-foolish decision, and your health and mine will be poorer for it,” Dr. Kenny Lin, a Washington-based family physician told STAT.
An AHRQ spokesperson told STAT that while the guideline depository will be missed at first, the digital age has empowered users to track down a vast amount of information.
” … In today’s information-rich environment, they’ll have the ability to find guidelines in other places, such as with organizations that develop guidelines,” the spokesperson said. “Likewise, information about guidelines’ trustworthiness will be available from peer-reviewed publications and other sources.”
