Guideline Endorsement

ISOPP Policy on Endorsement of Guidelines

Guideline Eligibility Endorsement by ISOPP:

Guidelines considered for ISOPP endorsement must address topics that are relevant to Oncology Pharmacy Practice and consistent with ISOPP’s Mission and Goals. 

Guidelines should be based on a systematic review of the literature as defined by the National Guideline Clearinghouse (see: http://www.guideline.gov/about/inclusion-criteria.aspx). 

Requests for endorsement may be submitted internally from ISOPP members, or from external sources (e.g. other Societies, or Guideline authors)

Conflict of Interest Management:

Guidelines will be reviewed by a Task Force. Members of the Task Force will complete conflict of interest statements with respect to each guideline undergoing the endorsement evaluation process. Members with a conflict of interest will not participate in the endorsement evaluation.

Endorsement Evaluation Process:

  • Evidence based practice guidelines may be submitted to ISOPP for Endorsement. Submitted guidelines will come to the Secretariat.  The Secretariat will review the guideline topic, for relevance to Oncology Pharmacy Practice.
  • The ISOPP Secretary will inform the lead contact within 2 weeks of receipt of the request, whether or not the document is eligible for appraisal and endorsement by ISOPP.
  • The Secretariat will strike a task force of 6-8 individuals (minimum) including 1 member of the ISOPP Secretariat who will be charged with assessing the guideline.  The Task Force Chair will establish a deadline for completion of the assessment.
  • The guideline will undergo assessment by the Task Force members using the AGREE-II rating method. If following this assessment, consensus cannot be achieved, the evaluation process will terminate and the guideline will not be endorsed.
  • The reviewing Task Force may request that the guideline undergo external feedback by several (max 3) content expert reviewers that the subcommittee will identify. For example, this step may be undertaken in situations where the guideline under consideration did not, during development, include an external content review or, if included, was inadequate.
  • Depending on the guideline topic and if there are issues with applicability/implementation; the Task Force may choose to send the guideline for review to at least 2 ISOPP members within each of ISOPP’s country membership tiers. All reviews and comments will be collated by the guideline review Task Force and a recommendation to endorse/not endorse the guideline will be made to the Secretariat.
  • The ISOPP Secretariat will review the report/recommendation of the Task Force. Major concerns regarding the integrity of the guideline content may preclude endorsement.

Dissemination and Periodic Review:

Guidelines that meet the criteria for ISOPP endorsement will be distributed to ISOPP members and a link will be posted on the ISOPP website.

The ISOPP Secretariat will review endorsed guidelines five years from the date of endorsement for relevance and currency (e.g. has it been updated?) of the topic and the guideline recommendations.  The Society Management Office will track the endorsement dates and inform the Secretariat when guidelines are to be reviewed.