Background: Conducting systematic evidence reviews on a set of focused clinical questions has become one of the ‘gold standards’ for development of ‘trustworthy’ clinical guidance. Time, resource constraints, urgent public health needs and other issues, however, may require the application of more pragmatic means for reviewing the evidence to support rapid guidance development. Format: Parallel Panel Session

Objectives: To actively engage panelists and session participants in a discussion of the role of rapid systematic reviews in the development of rapid guidance, the strengths and limitations of rapid versus full/complete systematic review methods, and the applicability and usability of rapid review products in the health care and health policy settings.

Methods: Panelists will present the results of rapid reviews conducted for technology assessment and rapid guidance development in hospitals and health care system settings, as well as for professional medical societies/organizations and public health entities. Presentations will focus on engagement with stakeholders to clarify the relevant clinical questions and scope of the rapid review, methods used in conducting rapid systematic reviews versus full/complete systematic reviews, and the application and usability of rapid guidance products. Implementation of the Cochrane Collaboration’s new ‘Cochrane Response’ rapid review methodology in health care settings will also be discussed.

Results: The applicability and usability of rapid systematic reviews across a range of recent national and international rapid review and guidance development efforts will be presented.

Conclusions: Rapid systematic reviews are an important tool for evidence-informed decision making and guidance development, especially in the setting of time and resource constraints, and urgent public health needs.