Development of the AHCPR-sponsored Heart Failure Guideline
Methodologic and Procedural Issues
Published In: The Joint Commission Journal On Quality Improvement, v. 20, 1994, p. 539-546
Posted on RAND.org on January 01, 1994
In its capacity as a contractor for AHCPR, RAND presided over a 16-member panel charged with developing a guideline for the management of patients with heart failure. Panel discussions about practice recommendations were held until consensus was reached. This article summarizes methodologic and procedural issues involved in this process. The first step was to determine the focus of the guideline. The key tool for panel discussion in this regard was a draft algorithm that dealt with how to begin the literature review, rate the strength of evidence underlying practice recommendations, and determine the relationship of strength of evidence and strength of recommendations. The panel solicited opinions of national experts early and often during the guideline development, and it is believed that this process helped the panelists agree on conclusions concerning controversial issues.
This report is part of the RAND Corporation External publication series. Many RAND studies are published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, as chapters in commercial books, or as documents published by other organizations.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.