This publication presents as a reference document the first issuance of the national guidelines for health planning as they were published by the department of health, education, and welfare on march 28, 1978. This is accompanied by a reprinting from the federal register of the preambles to the final rule and to the two notices of proposed rulemaking which preceded the final rule. A purpose of these guidelines is to assist health systems agencies in developing health systems plans and to help clarify and coordinate national health policy. This first issue consists of resource standards with respect to nine specific categories of health services and facilities. General hospital beds, obstetrical inpatient services, neonatal special care units, pediatric inpatient services, open heart surgery, cardia catheterization, radiation therapy, computed tomographic scanners, and end-stage renal disease.