Webinar session today

I had a chance to attend the online session today - this was the webinar suggested by our Librarians. Thanks for this- I had a chance to practice my online chatting.

There were a number of interesting social media sites discussed. Two main points that I took away from the session were:
1. It is important to set goals for your Social Media use
2. Be prepared to post alot of content in order to generate interest

Overall an interesting and informative session.

GURU Newsletter

A couple of our authors (Xanthoula and Melissa) are part of "GURU" - The Guideline Utilization Resource Unit in Cancer Care.

I have to say I love that acronym!

Check out their summer newsletter for the latest news from their unit: GURU Newsletter Summer 2011

Some Thoughts...

Hi everyone! Melissa and I have been brainstorming about some of the questions that were circulated to the group, and some of our collective thoughts are listed below. Looking forward to chatting with everyone this afternoon!

Resources we would you use in relation to a guideline topic:
For a question related to the guideline (i.e. PICO style question), we consult medical journals (both online directly through the publisher and through the databases provided by the library), guideline databases, government websites (e.g., National Cancer Institute), non-profit organizations (e.g., Canadian Cancer Society), and data sources such as SEER or Statistics Canada.

Some specific resources we refer to:
Guideline databases: National Guidelines Clearinghouse, CMA Infobase, SAGE (CPAC)
Guideline developers: Cancer Care Ontario, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia), New Zealand Guidelines Group, European Society for Medical Oncologists, Society of Surgical Oncologists, American College of Radiology, Society of Gynecologic Oncology, BC Cancer Agency
Systematic reviews: Cochrane database, MEDLINE
Research articles: MEDLINE, Pubmed, EMBASE, CINAHL
Data/statistics: SEER, Canadian Cancer Society, Statistics Canada

Key benefits of checking these resources:
It's important to consider the source of the information. When trusted sources and/or high level evidence, such as guidelines, meta-analyses, or randomized controlled trials are available, we assess these sources first. Lower-level evidence, such as retrospective cohort studies or case series, can provide information, but should have the caveat that strong evidence is lacking. Data from SEER and Stats Canada are thought to have been collected in a systematic, standard fashion and are therefore reliable. Data from individual studies may or may not have used sound methodology and need to be reviewed.

Why we're interested in the topic of "clinical practice guidelines":
We develop clinical practice guidelines for cancer treatment as our core business. The guidelines serve (1) to articulate standard practice in Alberta, (2) as teaching tools, and (3) to inform family physicians, other specialists, and patients and families of what to expect for a particular type of cancer. The process of developing a guideline often gets the Tumour Team to discuss important or controversial issues and/or new research.

Virtual Interest Group Discussion-Clinical Practice Guidelines

I am in clinic this Thursday so will most likely not be able to participate in the live chat session.

A few thoughts around the four questions that were posed in relation to Clinical Practice Guidelines:

1. I would most likely consult two main sources. The first source is the governing body of my profession here in Alberta. The next source would be AHS internal resources. This would include consultation with collegues. After that I would consult research journals or databases. I am less likely to rely on free internet searches for this type of inquiry.

2. The specific resource would most likely depend on the need - how quickly do I need to gather this information?

3. By consulting with CRDHA and AHS internal resources first I would be ensuring that the information I am gathering is consistent with governing policies and guidelines of my profession as well as the organization I work for.

4. Remaining current on issues related to Clinical Practice Guidelines is a priority for me and forms a cornerstone to my professional practice.

Do you AGREE?

Not all Critical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) are created equal.

The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation (AGREE) II is an international tool used to critically appraise the quality of CPGs. Researchers may use this tool to assess guidelines that are published or as a guide to include in their own guideline development.

The AGREE II comprises 23 items organized into 6 quality domains, rated on a Likert scale:

1. scope and purpose
2. stakeholder involvement
3. rigour of development
4. clarity of presentation
5. applicability
6. editorial independence

The tool is pretty simple to use and comes with a resource manual and other supporting documentation for help. For more info: http://www.agreetrust.org/about-agree/
Access the tool here: http://www.agreetrust.org/resource-centre/agree-ii/

Anyone using AGREE II already? How are you using it?

Are there any other appraisal tools, like GRADE, that you are using?

How can Blogging help AHS?

One of Alberta Health Services five priority areas is:

Innovation and Performance Improvement

Transformational Improvement Program (TIP) #4 supports this priority

Enabling Our People to Achieve Excellence in Providing Health Services

A Blog is a tool that can provide support and resourses to help us excel at our work. It provides educational and development opportunities and can bring like-minded individuals together, regardless of geographical boundries, thus supporting TIP #5:

Enabling One Health System

Blogs can help us be the best we can be so we can make our Health Care system the best it can be. It can give us "SUPER POWERS"!

Delicious

Delicious is a social bookmarking web service (http://www.delicious.com/), for storing, sharing and discovering web bookmarks (websites) for our interest groups. Use it like your favourites you save on your computer. The great thing about Delicious bookmarks is they are portable, accessible anywhere with an Internet connection. Key benefits to Delicious:

• access your bookmarks anywhere
• tag your favourites to sort them
• share your favourite sites with others
• see what other people are bookmarking

All bookmarks posted to Delicious are publicly viewable by default; however, you can mark specific bookmarks as private.

A collection of bookmarks on Clinical Practice Guidelines has been started here:
http://www.delicious.com/YongtaoLin

and started a collection of bookmarks on social media and health care here:
http://www.delicious.com/kathryn.ranjit/social_media

Ready to build your own online bookmark collection?
1. Go to http://www.delicious.com/
2. Click on “Join Now” at the top left corner