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The Technology Assessment and Practice Guidelines Forum: A Modified Group Judgment Method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2009

Seymour Perry
Affiliation:
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Susann L. Wilkinson
Affiliation:
Georgetown University School of Medicine

Abstract

This article describes a new group-judgment process, modified from the consensus development approach of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. It is called the “forum” method, a shorthand term for “technology assessment and practice guidelines forum.” This approach is aimed at (a) describing the current state of knowledge of the technology under study; (b) developing practice guidelines for the use of the technology; and (c) providing information for insurers, consumers, policymakers, and others. A pilot study was conducted focusing on total parenteral nutrition. The validity of the process and of the recommendations and their acceptability were evaluated in a survey of participants and a selected group of nonparticipants. Based on the survey results, the forum method appears to be a valuable method for assessing technologies, defining their clinical role, and developing practice guidelines.

Type
General Essays
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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