Procedures and Requirements for Meeting the NHMRC Standards for Clinical Practice Guidelines – draft version 2.0

Closed 27 Oct 2024

Opened 25 Sep 2024

Contact

1300064672

clinicalguidelines@nhmrc.gov.au

Overview

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is inviting feedback on the draft Procedures and Requirements for Meeting the NHMRC Standards for Clinical Practice Guidelines (version 2.0).

NHMRC has a statutory responsibility to provide leadership in the development of high-quality clinical practice guidelines in Australia.

As part of this role, NHMRC has issued Standards for guidelines to help ensure guidelines developed in Australia are of high quality, are developed in a transparent way and make clear recommendations.

Under Section 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992 NHMRC may approve clinical practice guidelines developed by other organisations.

In 2011, NHMRC published the Procedures and Requirements for Meeting NHMRC Standards for Clinical Practice Guidelines (Procedures and Requirements) aimed for guideline developers. It outlines what developers need to do to meet NHMRC Standards and receive NHMRC guideline approval.

Why your views matter

The information provided during this consultation will help ensure that the Procedures and Requirements are clear, practical and relevant.

What is changing?

Based on research and consultation with key stakeholders, NHMRC is proposing several updates to the Procedures and Requirements (as outlined in Box 1.1 Summary of what has changed).

Box 1.1: Summary of what has changed

Procedures and requirements for meeting the NHMRC Standards for clinical practice guidelines have been updated. Developers should note the following key differences from version 1.2:

Composition of the guideline development group

  • A strengthened focus on equity to ensure that NHMRC-approved guidelines address disparities and promote fairness in healthcare delivery. Updates to requirements include specific requirements for a representative guideline development group and greater attention to the unique needs of population groups requiring special considerations in prevention, diagnosis or treatment (See Requirements A).

Reviewing the Evidence

  • Refinements to requirements for reviewing evidence to enhance the quality and robustness of NHMRC-approved recommendations, aligning the requirements with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework.
  • New requirement for a narrative summary of the evidence and judgements that the guideline development group used to inform each recommendation.
  • New requirement around reporting when evidence is used from other published guidelines via adoption/adaptation guideline development processes.

Recommendations

  • New requirement around the reporting of adapted/adopted recommendations from other published guidelines.
  • New requirement to provide a date for review of the recommendation

Public Consultation

  • New requirements to enhance the reach and scope of public consultations for guidelines seeking NHMRC approval, including a requirement to publish a summary demonstrating how public input has been considered and incorporated.

Documents for approval – flexible formats

  • Guidelines can be published in a variety of formats, including on online platforms. Amendments to the Requirements allow for the information requested in the administrative report to be published within the guideline or the technical report so long as it is accessible and includes all the information outlined in Appendix B under Administrative Report.

Innovations in guideline development:

  • Updates allow for recommendations to be developed using the living guideline development model, adopt/adapt approaches and accommodate guidelines published on online platforms such as MAGICapp.

Implementation

  • New requirements have been incorporated to promote the effective implementation of NHMRC-approved guidelines in clinical practice. Updates mandate that guideline developers engage with stakeholders specifically on implementation, describe any implementation barriers in the guideline and provide suggestions for overcoming them.

 

How can I make a submission?

Submissions should be made via the online survey below.

The survey invites responses on a range of questions and provides space for additional comments. You do not have to respond to all questions.

Where possible, please refer to the relevant requirement number or line and page number of the draft Procedures and Requirements (version 2.0) when providing comments.

The closing date for submissions is 27 October 2024. Late submissions will not be accepted. If you have any questions or need further information, please email clinicalguidelines@nhmrc.gov.au.

Please see below for a downloadable version of the draft Procedures and Requirements (version 2.0).

What happens next

At the end of the consultation period, all submissions will be considered by NHMRC. It is expected that the version 2.0 of the Procedures and Requirements will be published by late 2024.

Audiences

  • General public
  • Families
  • Carers and guardians
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
  • Commonwealth agencies
  • Local governments
  • State government agencies
  • Health professionals
  • Health workforce
  • Non-government organisations

Interests

  • Guideline Development