The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is an independent panel of experts in primary care and prevention that systematically reviews the evidence of effectiveness and develops recommendations for clinical preventive services. These reviews are published as U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations on the Task Force Web site and in a peer-reviewed journal.
For certain topics, the Task Force develops companion discussion guides to facilitate meaningful discussions between healthcare professionals and patients about Task Force recommendations. Healthcare professionals are encouraged to use these guides as conversation starters with their patients when making decisions about preventive services.
A and B grade recommendations are services that the Task Force most highly recommends implementing for preventive care and that are also relevant for implementing the Affordable Care Act. These preventive services have a high or moderate net benefit for patients.
The American Academy of Family Physicians provides educational quizzes for each of the Task Force’s recommendations. Test your knowledge through these Putting Prevention Into Practice (PPIP) quizzes.
My Health Finder helps patients find personalized recommendations on clinical preventive services based on answering three basic questions.
All the USPSTF recommendations listed above are also available on your tablet and phone through the Prevention TaskForce (formerly ePSS) application. Prevention TaskForce is designed to help primary care clinicians identify the right clinical preventive services for their patients.