Browse Information for Consumers

Getting the best health care means making smart decisions about preventive services. Preventive services, such as screening tests, counseling services, and preventive medicines, are tests or treatments that your doctor or others provide to prevent illnesses before they cause you symptoms or problems. To help doctors and patients decide together whether a preventive service is right for a person’s needs, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force develops recommendations based on a review of high-quality scientific evidence, and publishes its recommendations on its Web site and/or in a peer-reviewed journal.

The goal of these recommendations is not only to offer guidance to doctors, nurses and other primary care professionals, but to provide patients and their families with the most accurate and up-to-date information on ways to prevent illness and improve health and well-being.

On this page you will find easy-to-understand information on the Task Force and on health topics for which the Task Force has released a recommendation. These materials include guides, fact sheets, slideshows, and videos available for view and download. You can sort the table by document title, type of material, or recommendation title, or simply browse using the search function. These materials are designed to inform people about Task Force recommendations and are not intended to replace advice from a health professional.