American Academy of Dermatology evidence-based guideline development process: responding to new challenges and establishing transparency

Background: Evidence-based clinical guidelines are developed to educate and inform physicians about best practices in patient care, and assist providers in the application of treatments and technologies that can improve outcomes. Clinical guidelines also aid appeal of payment decisions; serve as the basis for quality measure development, appropriateness criteria, and maintenance of certification modules; and help identify areas for further clinical research.

Objective: For guidelines to serve dermatologists effectively in these diverse roles, they must be current, varied in clinical focus, and developed with a high degree of rigor that includes attention to potential conflicts of interest.

Method: To address these needs and keep pace with advances in medicine, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recently revised the evidence-based guideline development process.

Results: Key changes include development of a yearly needs assessment process to determine what guidelines are most needed, the development of focused guidelines that address rapidly evolving clinical topics, a formal method of vetting guidelines produced by other societies, and a scheduled reassessment of existing guidelines to ensure they provide current and practical information. The process for identifying and managing potential conflicts of interest was also revised and expanded to meet current expectations and evolving standards.

Limitations: The impact of these changes to the AAD's guideline development process will not be fully realized for several years.

Conclusions: These changes will help ensure the AAD will be able to provide its members with continued evidence-based guidance to support patient care across the scope of dermatologic practice.