Deontic verb or phrase | AAN | AAPD | ACC/AHA | ACCP | NICE | NZGG | USPSTF |
Should | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ||||
May | ✗ | ||||||
Must | ✗ | ||||||
Should be done | ✗ | ||||||
Consider | ✗ | ✗ | |||||
Should consider | ✗ | ||||||
Should be considered | ✗ | ||||||
May/might be considered | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ||||
Must be considered | |||||||
Recommend or is recommended | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |||
Is indicated | ✗ | ||||||
Suggest or is suggested | ✗ | ||||||
Is/may/might be reasonable | ✗ | ||||||
Is/can/may be useful | ✗ | ||||||
Is/can/may be effective | ✗ | ||||||
Offer | ✗ | ||||||
Discuss | ✗ |
AAN, American Academy of Neurology23; AAPD, American Academy Of Paediatric Dentistry24; ACC, American College of Cardiology25; AHA, American Heart Association25; ACCP, American College of Chest Physicians26; NICE, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (England and Wales). Also provide specific instructions for the rare use of “must” and “must not”14: NZGG, New Zealand Guidelines Group27; USPSTF, US Preventive Services Task Force.13