Guidelines and Statements

Guidelines and statements methodology

Document development process

The Guidelines and Statements Division of the SIR provides a framework of evidence-based clinical practice documents to ensure patient safety and enhance the delivery of patient care.

Read more about our level of evidence and strength of recommendation methodology.

SIR and the Guidelines and Statements Division welcomes opportunities to collaborate on document development with other societies on topic areas that align with IR.  Guidelines and Statements members can be nominated to writing panels and participate in peer review processes for external documents before publication.  Additionally, SIR may ask societies to collaborate on society-lead documents to foster cooperation in areas where multiple specialties intersect and to minimize duplication of efforts.

If you are interested in collaborating with SIR on a topic, please contact Sheena Patel, Director, Clinical Guidelines and Standards.

<p>The development process timeline for a clinical practice guideline includes defining key clinical questions, conducting a systematic review, and developing evidence-based recommendations.</p>
<p><a href="/link/95d736d08df7451186a75e41da3be067.aspx" title="Guideline development process" target="_blank">Click to expand image.</a></p>

The development process timeline for a clinical practice guideline includes defining key clinical questions, conducting a systematic review, and developing evidence-based recommendations.

Click to expand image.

Types of documents developed

Document type

Description

Systematic literature search and review

Graded recommendations informed by quality of evidence

Assist in clinical decision-making

Consensus-based recommendations for new/emerging procedures lacking robust data

Clinical Practice Guidelines

Provide recommendations about benefits and drawbacks of different care options intended to optimize patient care

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Appropriate use criteria

Specify situations where it is appropriate to perform a certain procedure

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Position statements

Reflect the society’s opinion concerning areas of evolving clinical practice and/or technologies

Sometimes

Sometimes

Sometimes

Yes

Expert consensus statements

Provide guidance from experts in the clinical area

No

No

Sometimes

Yes

Reporting standards

Define a set of vocabulary for processes and outcomes to standardize comparison of data across multiple studies

No

No

No

Yes

Competence and training statements

Make recommendations on training and competencies required for a given clinical topic, procedure, or therapy

No

No

No

Yes

 

What is a CPG?

Clinical Practice Guidelines are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care that are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of alternative care options (Clinical practice Guidelines We Can Trust, IOM Report 2011)

How is a CPG different than SIR’s other document types?

All of SIR’s evidence-based documents rely on scientific literature to inform recommendations. However, CPGs are based on systematic reviews of evidence focused on key clinical questions that include an assessment of the overall quality of the body of evidence.

What can CPGs be used for?

CPGs can go on to inform health care policy, quality improvement initiatives, and appropriate use criteria (AUCs). Guideline recommendations can also be incorporated into Clinical Decision Support systems to standardize care and reduce unnecessary variation in care.

Conflicts of interest

Read SIR's conflict of interest policy for CPG writing panels.

Disclaimer

The SIR develops standards and guidelines to provide educational resources to practicing clinicians to promote high quality outcomes and patient safety in vascular and interventional radiology.  Guidelines are not fixed rules nor are they the sole determinant of treatment choice; and are not intended to establish a legal standard of care.  Use of the standards is voluntary and a deviation from the recommendations should not automatically be interpreted as the delivery of care that is substandard.  Standards are not intended to supplant professional judgment and a physician may deviate from these guidelines, as necessitated by the individual patient, practice setting, or available resources.  Other sources of information may be used in conjunction with these principles to produce a process leading to high quality medical care.  The ultimate judgment regarding the conduct of any specific procedure or course of management must be made by the physician, who should consider all circumstances relevant to the individual clinical situation.

These guidelines are provided “AS IS”, and SIR does not warrant the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the guidelines.  SIR is not responsible for any actions taken in reliance on these guidelines, including but not limited to any treatment decisions made by any health care provider reading these guidelines, and SIR assumes no responsible for any injury or damage to persons or property arising out of or related to any use of these guidelines or for any errors or omissions.