Clinical Practice Guidelines

The Quality Improvement/Utilization Management Committee (QI/UM) delegates responsibility for the evaluation of clinical practice guidelines (CPG) to the Credentialing Committee. All the materials on this page, including CPG, condensed versions, Guideline Watch, executive summaries, and TIPS, were readopted by the committee on March 27, 2025.

Applied behavior analysis

Source: The Council of Autism Service Providers

Assessment and management of patients at risk for suicide

Source: Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics

Bipolar disorder

Source: American Psychiatric Association

This guideline is more than five years old and has not yet been updated to ensure that it reflects current knowledge and practice. In accordance with national standards, including those of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality National Guideline Clearinghouse, this guideline can no longer be assumed to be current. A third edition of this guideline is in development. The November 2005 Guideline Watch associated with this guideline provides additional information that has become available since publication of the guideline, but it is not a formal update of the guideline.

Family-based mental health services (FBMHS)

The Family-Based Mental Health Practice Guidelines (FBPG) (PDF) is the product of a workgroup that consists of consumers, providers, county stakeholders, the Capital Area Behavioral Health Collaborative, and PerformCare. These guidelines are intended to serve four purposes:

  • To improve FBMHS service outcomes for members and their families.
  • To increase the coherence and consistency of service delivery in the practice of conducting FBMHS.
  • To promote continuous quality improvement and best utilization management practices associated with the service delivery of FBMHS.
  • To provide a common understanding of the FBMHS level of care and the practice standards within a behavioral health managed care environment.

This FBPG will clarify PerformCare's expectations for providers of FBMHS and serve as a basis for monitoring the quality of FBMHS treatment and programs in the PerformCare provider network. Please note that although the FBPG were designed in compliance with relevant regulation, the FBPG are guidelines adopted by PerformCare and not to be interpreted as statutory or regulatory. These documents should be the basis for FBMHS practice and for the staff delivering these services who should be familiar with these regulations. PerformCare implemented these guidelines in November 2015.

Major depressive disorder

Source: American Psychiatric Association

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Permission granted to link to the American Psychological Association

Psychiatric evaluation of adults

Source: American Psychiatric Association

Schizophrenia

Source: American Psychiatric Association

Substance use disorders (SUD)

Source: American Psychiatric Association

This guideline is more than five years old and has not yet been updated to ensure that it reflects current knowledge and practice. In accordance with national standards, including those of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality National Guideline Clearinghouse, this guideline can no longer be assumed to be current. The April 2007 Guideline Watch associated with this guideline provides additional information that has become available since publication of the guideline, but it is not a formal update of the guideline.

Videoconferencing-based telemental health

Sources: American Psychiatric Association and American Telemedicine Association