Document Development Policies

Subjects chosen for ISHLT Professional Practice Guidelines And Consensus Statements, Health Policy Guidance Statements, Standards Documents, and Public Comments (collectively referred to herein as S&G Documents) are usually medical and clinical issues related to topics within ISHLT’s discipline and core competencies where there is a clear need for guidance to assist physicians/clinicians in diagnosis and/or clinical management. They can encompass public health issues, epidemiology, prevention, management strategies, health policies, education, ethics, etc.

Efforts to update previously published ISHLT S&G Documents will be given a high priority when new data has emerged in the relevant field.

Duplication of previously existing, high quality S&G Documents issued by other Societies is discouraged unless new data exists which makes existing S&G Documents out of date. In such cases, collaborations with the Societies which published the existing S&G Documents is strongly encouraged before embarking on the development of new and independent ISHLT S&G Documents.

S&G Documents developed under the auspices of ISHLT are copyrighted by ISHLT and may not be published in any forum or format without prior written approval by the Publications Oversight Committee, the ISHLT Board of Directors, and, in some cases, the JHLT publisher.

1. Activities and Documents under S&G Committee Purview
    
   1. Health Policy Guidance Statements
   2. Standards Documents
   3. Public Comments
   4. Professional Practice Guidelines
   5. Consensus Document
   6. Endorsements
   7. Collaborative Documents
   8. Consensus Conferences
       
2. Definitions
    
   1. Health Policy Guidance Statements: Documents which present ISHLT guidance and/or positions on ethics, public health issues, and the like
       
   2. Standards Documents: Documents which describe standards for training, competency, or nomenclature and incorporate a development process that involves multi-disciplinary and broad geographic representation among the content contributors, as appropriate
       
   3. Public Comments: Responses to or comments/assessments of decisions or documents promulgated by other organizations, regulatory bodies, etc., on issues of relevance to the field of advanced heart failure and transplantation, advanced lung failure and transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, and/or pulmonary vascular disease.
       
   4. Professional Practice Guidelines: Documents which include strategies, information, and specific, graded recommendations that assist physicians and other healthcare practitioners in making decisions about appropriate measures of care for specific clinical circumstances. Guidelines must include the following components:
      • A development process that involves multi-disciplinary and broad geographic representation among the content contributors
      • A comprehensive literature search and expert opinion which provides the evidence for graded recommendations
      • Specific recommendations which include a formal grading based on the quality of available evidence; such grading formulations to include an evaluation of benefits, harms, burdens, and costs
         
   5. Consensus Documents: Documents which summarize available information and supply general recommendations on complex or controversial areas of patient care. Consensus Documents must include the following components:
      • A development process that involves multi-disciplinary and broad geographic representation among the content contributors
      • A comprehensive literature search and expert opinion which provide the evidence for general recommendations
      • Consensus documents do NOT include individual recommendations that are graded by quality of available evidence
         
   6. Endorsements: The awarding of approval or support either a) by ISHLT to another organization’s S&G Documents or b) by other organizations to ISHLT S&G Documents. Such organizations are limited to not-for-profit organizations and governmental agencies with similar and/or complementary interests in advanced heart failure and transplantation, advanced lung failure and transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, and/or pulmonary vascular disease.
       
   7. Collaborative Documents: Professional Practice Guidelines, Consensus Documents, Health Policy Guidance Statements, and Standards Documents which are a) developed under the auspices of another organization(s), for which ISHLT has significant input into the content of such documents and rights regarding review, publication, and use of ISHLT’s name in association with the document or b) developed under the auspices of ISHLT, for which one or more other organizations has significant input into the content of such documents and rights regarding review, publication, and use of their name in association with the document. Such organizations are limited to not-for-profit organizations and governmental agencies with similar and/or complementary interests in advanced heart failure and transplantation, advanced lung failure and transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, and/or pulmonary vascular disease.
       
   8. Consensus Conferences: A conference of multidisciplinary experts reflecting broad geographic representation designed to review information related to a specific area of patient care and come to consensus on recommendations regarding the area and/or 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 Document should result from most Consensus Conferences. 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. A separate process for obtaining Board approval and funding for a Consensus Conference is required.