Characteristics and quality of the of clinical practice guidelines in the Social Security of Health of Peru

Objective: To describe the characteristics and quality of the clinical practice guidelines (CPG) of the Social Security of Health (EsSalud) of Peru. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the CPGs of the 33 EsSalud networks. The methodological quality of 31 CPGs was evaluated using the AGREE II tool. Results: A total of 710 CPGs were assessed, of which 79% were developed in Lima and Callao, with the majority being from the clinical area (62%), and more than 5 years in use (52%). In the quality evaluation of 31 CPGs, low scores were obtained in the 6 domains, with those referring to the methodological rigour (6%) and applicability (8%) obtaining the lowest mean scores. The CPGs developed in regions other than those of Lima and Callao obtained even lower mean scores. Conclusions: There is an increasing production of CPGs, but of low quality and not really recommended for use.