Background: The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) 9th edition of the Antithrombotic guidelines (AT9) has adopted a conflict of interest (COI) policy that gives the primary responsibility to methodologists, equally emphasises intellectual and financial conflicts of interest, and excludes conflicted individuals from decision-making regarding recommendations. A qualitative study found that prior to the implementation of the policy, the methodologists and content experts were uneasy regarding their respective roles. Also, they disagreed about the potential effect of the new strategy on the quality of the guideline.

Objectives: To explore the experience of the methodologists and content experts with the implementation of the COI policy during AT9 guideline development process.

Methods: We will conduct semi-structured interviews with both methodologists and content experts. We will ask about their experience with regards to: (1) giving primary responsibility to a methodologist; (2) emphasis on intellectual conflict of interest; (3) restrictions based on conflicts of interest; and (4) perceived impact on the quality of the guideline.

Results: The project is underway and we will present results in October. Exploring the experience of the individuals affected by the new COI policy will help understand its feasibility, whether it achieved utilization of the insight of experts while ensuring that conflicts do not influence recommendations, and if there are refinement that should be considered for future guidelines.