News

May 2010

Australian Clinical Guidelines – A National Study 7 May 2010

An NHMRC team has recently published in the Medical Journal of Australia (3 May 2010) on the outcomes of a national study of clinical practice guidelines.

The study examines the number of clinical practice guidelines existing in Australia, and the key characteristics of these guidelines. The authors were NHMRC's Dr Heather Buchan and NICS Guidelines Research Program staff, Kay Currie, Emma Lourey, and Geraint Duggan, who were also assisted by other members of the team at NICS in this work. The team sourced and reviewed more than 1000 documents produced for use at national or state level. The authors found that of these documents, 313 met the inclusion criteria for clinical practice guidelines produced or reviewed between 2003 and 2007. Each of these guidelines was then assessed by the team to determine health topic, documentation of evidence, identification of funding, and documentation of conflict of interest.

This significant work has led to the development of the new NHMRC Clinical Practice Guidelines Portal, the establishment of a national Guidelines in Development Register and a National Guideline Developers Network, and informs the future work of NHMRC.

Australian clinical practice guidelines - a National study Heather A Buchan, Kay C Currie, Emma J Lourey and Geraint R Duggan.

Med J Aust 2010; 192 (9): 490-494. http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/192_09_030510/buc11126_fm.html

» Download Australian Clinical Guidelines – A National Study Paper (PDF 206KB)

March 2010

The Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP) Fellowships are now closed 12 MARCH 2010

NICS is pleased to announce that NHMRC has launched the new Translating Research into Practice (TRIP) Fellowship scheme for 2010.
The principles, aims and education components of the TRIP Fellowship scheme are essentially the same as those for the NICS Fellowships, which they will replace.

The TRIP Fellowship scheme will support early-to-mid career clinical leaders in researching approaches to applying evidence to improve clinical practice. Fellows will develop specific knowledge, practical skills and expertise related to the implementation of evidence-based practice.

The Fellowship applications are now open and close at 5pm (EDST) 5 March 2010, for funding commencing in October 2010. The funding policy, guide to applicants and application forms are available on the NHMRC website.
Information sessions will be conducted via teleconference in February 2010, please check the NHMRC website for dates.

Please note that this scheme is not currently part of the NHMRC's new online Research Grants Management System (RGMS).

February 2010

Australian first – Clinical Practice Guidelines Portal and Register now a reality  26 FEBRUARY 2010

The National Health and Medical Research Council has launched a new national Clinical Practice Guidelines Portal that will provide links to current Australian guidelines developed by governments, professional colleges, specialty societies and non-government agencies.

Clinical practice guidelines are critical tools used by health professionals and researchers to improve the health of Australians, yet in the past have often been hard to locate, difficult to access and sometimes out of date.

The new portal is a ‘one stop shop’ for clinicians, researchers, policy makers and consumers to access guidelines developed during the preceding five years for use in the Australian health care system.

In addition to the Portal, the NHMRC has developed a national clinical practice Guidelines in Development Register. This Register contains information about clinical practice guidelines that are planned or currently being developed in Australia.

The Portal and Register can be accessed at www.clinicalguidelines.gov.au

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