gms | German Medical Science

Over recent decades, the number of guidelines developed by government and private organizations worldwide has increased exponentially. Clinicians, patients, and other stakeholders struggle with numerous and sometimes contradictory guidelines of variable quality. Guideline development processes vary substantially, and many guidelines do not meet basic quality criteria. Standards for guideline development can help organizations ensure that recommendations are evidence-based and can help users identify high-quality guidelines. This presentation will focus on the Guidelines International Network’s (G-I-N) proposed set of key components for guideline development to promote the development of high-quality guidelines that serve patients well. These key components address panel composition, decision-making process, conflicts of interest, guideline objective, development methods, evidence review, basis of recommendations, ratings of evidence and recommendations, guideline review, updating processes, and funding. The goal of this presentation is to promote discussion among our members and eventual agreement on a set of international standards for guideline development.