Lord Elgin Hotel, Ottawa
Dr. Thombs welcomed the group to Ottawa and thanked them for their attendance. Dr. Thombs asked everyone to introduce themselves. He then reviewed logistical items and expense forms, which will be sent out after the meeting.
Dr. Thombs noted a few recent accomplishments. Notably, Dr. Thombs congratulated Dr. Moore on her first meeting as Vice-Chair.
Dr. Thériault updated the Task Force on behalf of the Osteoporosis Working Group, reviewing progress to-date, issues currently facing the Working Group, and lessons learned.
Dr. LeBlanc reviewed scoping results on behalf of the Depression in Children & Adolescents Working Group, while also providing an update on the REB application for the patient preferences process and next steps.
Dr. Rodin and Ms. Limburg presented on the critical appraisal process and its related issues and challenges, reviewing options for its potential undertaking by the Task Force. There was agreement to convene the Methods Working Group for further discussion.
Dr. Ramdyal, an intern with the Task Force, led an update on behalf of the Chlamydia & Gonorrhea Guideline Working Group, reviewing Key Questions, PRISMA results, and next steps.
Dr. Rodin led a verbal update on behalf of the Global Health and Guidelines Division (GHGD) and reviewed guideline timelines.
Dr. Thombs led a discussion on the possibility of forming a core stakeholder council, with provincial representatives and other key stakeholders for input across guideline stages, from topic prioritization to dissemination. There was collective agreement to look into the prospect of a core stakeholder council further, with more attention to collaboration goals, principles, and eventual rollout.
Dr. Moore reviewed the recently approved change from “quality” to “certainty” in the evidence base as well as the proposed change from “indirect” to “linked” when describing bodies of evidence. There was agreement to refer the linked evidence discussion to the Methods Working Group for consideration.
Ms. Stevens and Dr. Little led a discussion of the Fetal Aneuploidies and Neural Tube Defects Guideline, which had been underway in 2016/17 and stalled due to resource limitations. There was agreement to form an exploratory Working Group to consider scope and direction of a potential guideline, with further evaluation of feasibility and clinical demand for this topic.
Dr. Lang, Dr. Thériault, Dr. Grad, Mr. Traversy, and Ms. Pillay provided debriefs on Too Much Medicine, Preventing Overdiagnosis, and the GIN conference. Additionally, Dr. Grad reviewed trends in and examples of national de-implementation efforts for Task Force consideration.
Drs. Lang, Thombs, Groulx, and Klarenbach led individual updates on behalf of their Working Groups:
Dr. Lang reported that the Ottawa Evidence Review and Synthesis Centre recently submitted protocol revisions to the journal Systematic Reviews, including the addition of two new outcomes (labelling and harms of treatment).
Dr. Groulx reviewed recent changes to the guideline title for the Esophageal Cancer Guideline, as well as progress on Key Question 3 and manuscript development. Final submission of the guideline is anticipated in early 2019.
Dr. Thombs reported that the protocol for the Tobacco Cessation in Adults Guideline has been drafted, reviewed, and approved by the Working Group and full Task Force. It was recently submitted to the Journal Systematic Reviews for peer review. He also reviewed findings from the recent knowledge translation report.
Dr. Klarenbach reviewed recently approved changes to the Breast Cancer Screening manuscript language, including: (1) description of the evidence base in terms of certainty rather than quality, and (2) using the term “conditional” in place of “weak,” while highlighting actionable areas in patient-physician interactions. Final revisions to the journal manuscript will be submitted soon, and knowledge translation tools are being prepared for dissemination.
Ms. Limburg and Mr. Traversy led an update on behalf of the Topics Working Group, reviewing this year’s topic selection process and introducing next steps and potential adjustments for the upcoming topics selection cycle.
Ms. Mascarenhas, Ms. Kasperavicius, and Dr. Einarson led an update on behalf of the Knowledge Translation (KT) team, reviewing completed KT activities and those currently underway or upcoming. There was an exploratory discussion of the possible use of an information dissemination platform by the Task Force.
Dr. Thombs thanked the group for their attendance and thanked Ms. Kasperavicius for her excellent work with the Task Force, who will be transitioning out of the CTFPHC. He reminded the Task Force to please send expense receipts to the Task Force administrators. Dates for the next meeting are February 25th and 26th, 2019, and the location is again at the Lord Elgin Hotel in Ottawa.
He reminded the group that an email would be sent out soon regarding expense forms. Please save receipts and original boarding passes for reimbursement. Feedback on venue and logistics of the meeting is welcome.