He has made significant contributions to national and international guidelines for health professionals. For example, as member of the joint American Diabetes Association (ADA) and European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Technology Committee, he was lead author in 2015 of a statement on the risks and benefits of Insulin Pumps. In 2010, he developed the algorithm on glucose-lowering therapies since used nationally in the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN116) guideline on type 2 diabetes.

Professor Petrie was Associate Editor of the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Diabetologia until joining its Advisory Board in 2014. He is currently a Senior Associate Editor of the journal Cardiovascular Endocrinology.