The Guidelines for the Management of Anemia was developed by the Anemia Review Panel which represents a mix of health professionals with expertise in several fields and clinical settings and who had an interest in providing a relevant educational resource for family physicians.

A new edition of these guidelines are currently in production.

The impetus for the development of a Canadian primary care reference came about as a result of a needs assessment of family physicians conducted by the Canadian College of Family Physicians (CFPC).

Anemia may be defined as a reduction of hemoglobin (Hgb) or as a decrease in the circulating red blood cell mass to below age-specific and gender-specific limits.

There is a growing body of evidence that anemia occours commonly, and has an independant impact on both length and quality of life. It can be a confusing condition in the primary care setting, whether as a single entity, or, more commonly, as one symptom of a more complicated or chronic illness. Anemia is often discovered on routine laboratory tests; its prevalance increases with age, reaching 44 percent in men older than 85 years. These guidelines are not intended to replace a physician's judgement and in addition are not to be used as a tool for cost-containment strategies.