[Expectations of guideline developers on living guidelines]

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Clinical practice guideline development
• Digital health transformation

Context:

• Guidelines are crucial for high-quality care but are resource-intensive to develop.
• There is a need for more efficient approaches to guideline development and maintenance.
• Digitalization offers potential for more dynamic guideline processes.

Purpose:

• To explore opportunities and challenges of dynamic updating for digitalized guidelines.
• To understand the perspective of guideline developers in psychiatry.
• To inform the implementation of living guidelines.

Summary:

• A survey of 561 guideline developers (39% response rate) found 60% familiarity with living guidelines.
• 83% endorsed dynamic updating and 88% digitalization.
• Key challenges identified include risk of inflationary changes (34%), actor continuity (53%), patient involvement (37%), and defining update criteria (38%).

Impact:

• Guideline developers are receptive to living guidelines but highlight significant implementation challenges.
• Addressing identified challenges is crucial for the successful adoption of dynamic and digitalized guidelines.
• 85% of developers believe guideline development must be followed by implementation projects.