A Consensus Conference is a conference of multidisciplinary experts reflecting broad geographic representation designed to review information related to a specific area of patient care. The key goal of the group is to come to consensus on recommendations regarding the subject matter and identify gaps in information that require further study.
A Consensus Conference is not a required precursor to the development of a Consensus Document; however, a Consensus Conference must result in a Consensus Document.
Consensus Conferences may only be conducted when there is a clear and established need which meets one or more of the below qualifications:
Clinical Significance: The topic is of wide interest, involving frequent or severe clinical presentations, and would benefit from a multidisciplinary and international perspective.
Need for Clinical Guidance and Lack of Established Guidelines: The topic lacks clear guidelines or existing guidelines indicate the need for further research or discussion. The topic may or may not be controversial but still requires clinical guidance due to a lack of clear direction.
Equipoise in Literature: There is a balance of differing opinions in the literature, with multiple sides of the topic represented in publications. There is no consensus on the topic proposed, making discussion by experts in the field necessary.
Impact on Population: The potential impact on a large patient population should be considered when determining if the topic is worthy of a consensus conference.
Diverse Viewpoints: The topic should involve diverse viewpoints in the literature, indicating a need for consensus.
A Consensus Conference should only be undertaken when adequate consensus and plans for moving the field forward cannot be accomplished through the usual Consensus Document Development Process.
Conference Leads must be current ISHLT members at the time of appointment, throughout the preparation and duration of the conference, and the development of the resulting Consensus Document. They may not be current members of the ISHLT Board of Directors, Statements & Publications Oversight Committee (SPOC), Interdisciplinary Network (IDN) Steering Committees, or the Standards & Guidelines (S&G) Committee. Exemptions to this rule may be granted by the SPOC in exceptional circumstances where there is limited expertise within the Society. The proposed Conference Leads must also reflect the diversity of the Society.
The Conference Leads, in collaboration with the supporting IDN and/or Professional Community (PC) Leadership is then responsible for the following:
Completing the Initial Application, taking care to ensure that the document will be maximally relevant to the various PCs.
Submitting the Initial Application to ISHLT staff for review and approval by the Standards and Guidelines (S&G) Committee.
The S&G Committee will review the Initial Application and vote to approve it, return it for revisions, or not approve it.
Review of the Initial Application will be conducted at the first opportunity. Two to three (2-3) weeks will be allowed for the S&G Committee to complete their review.
If no funds are being requested from ISHLT, the SPOC will be allowed one to two (1-2) weeks to review the S&G Committee's decision regarding the Initial Application and provide final recommendations.
If ISHLT is being asked to provide any funding or support (other than providing space for the Consensus Conference to be conducted), the Initial Application will not be reviewed by the SPOC, but will be proceed as outlined in #8 below.
Staff will communicate the S&G Committee and SPOC decision to the Conference Leads and relevant IDN and/or PC Chairs. If revisions are required, the feedback from the committee must be addressed and a response from the Conference Leads must be provided when the revised application is submitted for review.
Following approval of the Initial Application, staff will issue formal invitations to the Conference Leads, provide details of the proposed project, and collect Conflict of Interest Disclosure information.
Once the Conference Leads have accepted their invitations, staff will request that the Conference Leads complete and submit the next required application within 6 weeks.
If no funds are being requested from ISHLT, the Conference Leads will be required to complete and submit a Follow-Up Application.
If ISHLT is being asked to provide any funding or support (other than providing space for the Consensus Conference to be conducted), the Conference Leads will be required to complete and submit a Board of Directors Application + Budget for approval by the ISHLT Board of Directors.
Board of Directors Application
The Board of Directors Application + Budget must be completed by the Conference Leads and submitted for consideration and approval by the ISHLT Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors will review the Application + Budget and vote to approve it, return it for revisions, or not approve it.
Review of the Board of Directors Application will be conducted at the first opportunity.
Staff will communicate the decision of the Board of Directors to the Conference Leads and will request that they complete and submit the Follow-Up Application within 6 weeks.
Follow-Up Application
The Conference Leads are responsible for working with the leaders of the relevant Interdisciplinary Network (IDN) Steering Committees and Professional Community (PC) Leadership to complete and submit the Follow-up Application to the ISHLT staff for review and approval by the Standards and Guidelines (S&G) Committee.
The list of Conference Participants must be composed to ensure that the interests of the relevant IDN and PCs are adequately represented, that a broad geographic perspective will be achieved, and that gender diversity is adequately represented. Early Career Professionals (<6 years out of formal training) must be represented among the Conference Participants.
Industry Representatives are not permitted to participate in the Consensus Conference or in the development of the resulting Consensus Document.
Consensus Conference Participants must be ISHLT members at the time of appointment and throughout the duration of the project. Non-members will be considered in exceptional circumstances where the necessary expertise does not exist among the membership.
The Standards & Guidelines (S&G) Committee will review the Follow-up Application to ensure that the method for the consensus conference, discussion topics and questions are appropriate for the topic, the Conference Participants are reflective of the identified relevant IDN and PCs and provide geographic, gender, and generational diversity.
If these conditions are not met, the S&G Committee may return the application to the Conference Leads for revision. If revisions are required, the feedback from the committee must be addressed and a response from the Conference Leads must be provided when the revised application is submitted for review.
Once these conditions are met, the S&G Committee will vote to approve the Follow-up Application and will submit it to the Statements & Publications Oversight Committee (SPOC) for final approval.
Review of the Follow-up Application will be conducted at the first opportunity. Two to three (2-3) weeks will be allowed for the S&G Committee to complete their review.
Staff will communicate the decision of the S&G Committee and to the Conference Leads and will provide instructions regarding next steps.
Conference Participant Invitations / Conflict of Interest Management
Following approval of the Follow-up Application, staff will issue invitations to the Conference Participants. Invitations will be drafted by Conference Leads and should include details of the conference, any required pre-conference work, and instructions on submitting a Conflict of Interest (COI) Disclosure form.
All individuals involved in Consensus Conferences are required to adhere to ISHLT’s conflict of interest policies.
Once all Conference Participants have accepted their invitations, staff will notify the Conference Leads.
Staff will work with the Conference Leads to schedule a kick-off meeting with all invited collaborators, during which Conference Leads will communicate detailed instructions, including policies and deadlines for the Consensus Conference. Any pre-conference work will begin after that meeting.
Leads may not invite replacement authors without review by S&G. Once approval is granted, staff will issue the invitation to the replacement participant(s).
After the conclusion of the Consensus Conference, Staff will provide Conference Leads with the Post-Conference Information Form which must be completed and submitted for review no more than thirty (30) days from the date on which it was received.
The S&G Committee will review the Form and vote to approve it, or return it for revisions.
Review of the Information Form will be conducted at the first opportunity. Two to three (2-3) weeks will be allowed for the S&G Committee to complete their review.
Staff will communicate the S&G Committee decision to the Conference Leads. If revisions are required, the feedback from the committee must be addressed and a response from the Conference Leads must be provided when the revised application is submitted for review.
The expected format of the consensus conference document is a single document outlining the methodology of the consensus conference, themes identified /considered, brief overview of relevant literature, results of discussion and resulting consensus statements. The document should be no more than 25,000 words. Results of any pre-meeting survey results may be included in an Appendix.
The Consensus Document must be written collaboratively. Conference Leads may choose to include as many of the Conference Participants on the Consus Document Writing Committee as needed, but the Writing Committee must include, at minimum, the core members and/or section leads from the conference. ISHLT discourages Consensus Documents resulting from a Consensus Conference from being written by just 1-2 individuals, despite considerations of efficiency.
The development of Consensus Documents resulting from a Consensus Conference must adhere to the ISHLT Consensus Document Writing Policies and to the ISHLT Development Policies as they pertain to review, approval, and publication of Consensus Documents.
