Report of the US Preventive Services Task Force

In 1984 the Assistant Secretary for Health formed the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), asking the members to develop age-, sex-, and other risk factor—specific recommendations concerning the appropriate use of preventive interventions in the clinical setting. The article by Greene et al 1 in this issue completes the series of background articles and recommendations by the USPSTF published in JAMA . Since the April 1987 report on breast cancer screening, 2 12 articles and an introductory editorial have been published inThe Journal. 1-13 These background articles were prepared by task force members for use in their deliberations and aided in the development of their final report, the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services: An Assessment of the Effectiveness of 169 Interventions . 14 The guide provides recommendations for clinical practice on 169 interventions for the prevention of 60 target conditions. These interventions include screening tests, immunizations, chemoprophylaxis, and patient counseling.