Article type
Abstract
Background
The development of clinical guidelines involves complex processes requiring significant expertise, resources, and coordination to ensure that they meet high-quality standards and are relevant to clinical practice. Guideline development organizations recognize mutual interests in the field of guideline development and should therefore explore the benefits and methodologies of international collaboration and information exchange.
Objective
To establish an international collaboration with the following goals:
-To prevent the concurrent coverage of specific topics in different countries.
-To foster the exchange of information for the development of national updates.
-To ensure adherence to similar methodological standards.
-To share the best practices in guideline development.
Methods
The two most important organizations involved in guideline development in Belgium and the Netherlands, i.e. the Belgian Working Group Development of Primary Care Guidelines (WOREL) and the Dutch College of General Practitioners (NHG), agreed to further collaboration, expressed in a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The proposed methods for achieving these objectives involve regular exchanges on the planning of guideline development, sharing methodological approaches, and providing access to and enabling the reuse of supporting evidence during or after the guideline development process.
Results
Results from implementing these strategies are promising. In the past two years both organizations had regular meetings, convened twice annually. Overlap in guideline development topics has been significantly reduced. These gatherings also served as a fertile ground for exchanging methodological approaches, thereby standardizing the quality and rigor of guideline development. A notable achievement has been the streamlined exchange of GRADE Summary of Findings tables via MagicApp, facilitating access to and reuse of critical evidence supporting guideline recommendations. This collaborative framework not only enhances the efficiency and coherence of guideline development but also fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement among participating nations.
Conclusion
Through this collaboration and MoU, the efficiency and quality of guideline development across countries can be enhanced, contributing to improved health outcomes by ensuring that guidelines are based on the best available evidence and are developed using robust, standardized methodologies. The experiences of this collaboration can be a resource for others who wish to establish internationalization.
The development of clinical guidelines involves complex processes requiring significant expertise, resources, and coordination to ensure that they meet high-quality standards and are relevant to clinical practice. Guideline development organizations recognize mutual interests in the field of guideline development and should therefore explore the benefits and methodologies of international collaboration and information exchange.
Objective
To establish an international collaboration with the following goals:
-To prevent the concurrent coverage of specific topics in different countries.
-To foster the exchange of information for the development of national updates.
-To ensure adherence to similar methodological standards.
-To share the best practices in guideline development.
Methods
The two most important organizations involved in guideline development in Belgium and the Netherlands, i.e. the Belgian Working Group Development of Primary Care Guidelines (WOREL) and the Dutch College of General Practitioners (NHG), agreed to further collaboration, expressed in a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The proposed methods for achieving these objectives involve regular exchanges on the planning of guideline development, sharing methodological approaches, and providing access to and enabling the reuse of supporting evidence during or after the guideline development process.
Results
Results from implementing these strategies are promising. In the past two years both organizations had regular meetings, convened twice annually. Overlap in guideline development topics has been significantly reduced. These gatherings also served as a fertile ground for exchanging methodological approaches, thereby standardizing the quality and rigor of guideline development. A notable achievement has been the streamlined exchange of GRADE Summary of Findings tables via MagicApp, facilitating access to and reuse of critical evidence supporting guideline recommendations. This collaborative framework not only enhances the efficiency and coherence of guideline development but also fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement among participating nations.
Conclusion
Through this collaboration and MoU, the efficiency and quality of guideline development across countries can be enhanced, contributing to improved health outcomes by ensuring that guidelines are based on the best available evidence and are developed using robust, standardized methodologies. The experiences of this collaboration can be a resource for others who wish to establish internationalization.