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Dear Craig A new Network is being established - the Guidelines International Network - which will provide a fantastic opportunity for guideline developers to share systematic reviews and evidence tables etc prepared by other countries. The International Guidelines Network (G.I.N.) will seek to improve the quality of health care by promoting systematic development of clinical practice guidelines and their application into practice. Membership is open to organisations involved in developing, disseminating, implementing, or evaluating clinical practice guidelines, or otherwise active in the field. Interest so far in the Network has come from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States, and a large number of European countries. The G.I.N. website – www.guidelines-international.net <http://www.guidelines-international.net/> – will allow members easy, fast access to a wealth of information and expertise on guideline programmes, methodologies, and research. G.I.N. will also provide a focus for networking activities and will be proactive in facilitating collaborative work between guideline organisations, in particular to share the systematic review element of the guideline development process. Given the resource-intensive nature of undertaking systematic reviews (which can be anything from ˆ5,000 - ˆ50,000 and beyond), this will lead to reduced costs and improved quality of clinical practice guidelines. Activities which G.I.N. will be taking forward in its first year include: · Collating details of published guidelines, those still in development, and the programme plans of member organisations to aid coordination of activities and collaborative work. · Compiling a database of background documentation (e.g. literature search strategies and evidence tables), and facilitating their exchange between guideline programmes. · Working towards harmonisation of systems for assessing the strength of evidence and grading guideline recommendations (in liaison with the Cochrane Collaboration). · Organising workshops on aspects of guideline methodology and developing plans for an international guidelines conference in December 2004. Other priority areas which the Network will address as soon as possible include: · Maintaining a library of guideline development tools, templates and training materials. · Developing a register of completed/ongoing/planned research into guidelines, to improve dissemination and implementation of results and to identify research priorities. · Working towards harmonisation of electronic guideline formats (e.g. XML mark-up protocols) to help avoid the proliferation of incompatible systems. · Integrating health technology assessments and guidelines. · Involving patients and the public in guideline development and implementation. · Improving co-ordination of guideline development, implementation and evaluation. Information about the International Guidelines Network is available from : <mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask] The Considered Judgment Form process used by SIGN and NZGG is a useful tool to assess whether evidence gathered by other organisations is applicable in your own country . If you would like a copy of the NZGG version, please let me know. Kind regards Catherine Marshall Chief Executive, NZGG Vice Chair, Guidelines International Network [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> -----Original Message----- From: Craig Lockwood [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Monday, December 02, 2002 2:20 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re guideline development There is also the vexing problem that groups on every continent are creating guidelines for key performance indicators etc, hence there is a large amount of duplication, and the costs are significant – I question the validity of developing a new guideline when the topic has been addressed by another group (so long as the methods used are transparent and rigorous). If we transferred this issue of duplication to the clinical setting, most would agree that duplication of resources is not effective, or “best practice”. I suggest that guidelines can be used more globally, however the implementation of an international guideline requires inclusion of the patients preferences, cultural and clinical contexts as well as scientific evidence – in other words it is not much different to how practice should be conducted. Regards, Craig Lockwood Coordinator Systematic Reviews Joanna Briggs Institute Margaret Graham Building Royal Adelaide Hospital North Terrace Adelaide 5000 [log in to unmask] phone: (08) 8303 4880 fax: (08) 8303 4881 _____ This email message is intended only for the addressee and contains information which may be confidential and/or copyright. If you are not the intended recipient please do not read, save, forward, disclose, or copy the contents of this email. If this email has been sent to you in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete this email and any copies or links to this email completely and immediately from your system. 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