How to Implement Rapid Updates to Guideline Publications

Abstract

MODERATOR: Emilie Gunn American Society of Clinical Oncology Alexandria, Virginia @emiliemgunn SPEAKERS: Jill Jackson Annals of Internal Medicine Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Dax Rodulfa-Blemberg American Society of Hematology Washington, DC Helen Macdonald BMJ United Kingdom REPORTER: Heather DiAngelis Transportation Research Board at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Washington, DC @hdiangelis As noted by Emilie Gunn, Director of Journals at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, it is becoming increasingly important for medical societies to implement rapid updates to guideline publications to provide the most current recommendations to clinicians and medical professionals. Medical societies have unique responsibilities to authors, readers, members, and patients, and publishers must balance the needs of each contingent; at the same time, journals need a way to streamline the publishing process while also driving citations and usage. Three speakers from medical journals presented about how their organizations were adapting their guideline publication processes to meet these challenges. Jill Jackson, Managing Editor for Annals of Internal Medicine, was the first presenter; she provided an overview of Annals’s processes and policies for updating living guidelines after publication, which began in 2020 and are also known as “practice points” within the journal. Jackson defined practice points as “living advice that regularly assesses and incorporates new evidence” and noted that they are designed to “provide clinical advice based on the best available evidence for the public, patients, clinicians, and public health professionals.” The editorial staff regularly reviews living guidelines to request updates, which sometimes involves the author creating a […]