gms | German Medical Science

Background: There is considerable variation in the methodology used for updating guidelines. The methodologies of developing guidelines and systematic reviewing are constantly evolving; therefore a way to combine old and new methods in updates is needed. The value of guideline sections that do not need updating must be retained, while ensuring that updated sections transparently represent latest best practice.

Objectives/Goal:

• To explore issues experienced by guideline developers working on updates, and facilitate discussion of possible solutions.
• To disseminate methodology used in updating National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines.

Target group, suggested audience: Guideline developers and commissioners

Description of the workshop and of the methods used to facilitate interactions: The workshop will begin with a short introduction to the NICE guideline development process and the rationale for the workshop. This will be followed by a brainstorming session where participants will be asked to provide examples of the challenges they face in updating guidelines. Participants will then be split into small groups to explore potential solutions, which will be fed back to the entire group.

The workshop will conclude with a presentation by the facilitators, bringing together themes identified in the feedback sessions with the current methodology for NICE guideline updates, including:

• Topic selection for update, e.g., integrating stakeholder input, feedback from implementation teams, and results of scoping searches.
• Methods used to develop and present updates when methodology has changed, e.g., integrating evidence presented as narrative summaries with data appraised in GRADE.