About the clinical practice guidelines portal

This Clinical Practice Guidelines Portal provides access to clinical practice guidelines produced for Australian practice that have been assessed against criteria modified from the United States National Guidelines Clearinghouse, and adapted to the Australian context.

Over 2000 documents have been assessed for inclusion on this portal. Selection of guidelines is an ongoing process as we seek to identify and assess all new clinical practice guidelines published in Australia.

Portal selection criteria

All guidelines selected for this portal are assessed against the following selection criteria.

1. The clinical practice guideline contains statements that include recommendations, strategies, or information that assists health care practitioners and patients make decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances.
   
   The NHMRC does not (except in the case of NHMRC approved guidelines) evaluate the accuracy of the reasoning contained in or the conclusions reached by the guideline.
2. The clinical practice guideline was produced under the auspices of medical specialty associations; relevant professional societies, public or private health organisations, non-government agencies or government agencies at the federal or state level for current use within Australia. A clinical practice guideline developed and issued by an individual not officially sponsored or supported by one of the above types of organisations does not meet the inclusion criteria.
3. Corroborating documentation can be produced that a systematic literature search and review of existing scientific evidence published in peer reviewed journals was performed during the guideline development. A guideline is not excluded if corroborating documentation can be produced detailing specific gaps in scientific evidence for some of the guideline's recommendations.
   
   The NHMRC confirms that a systematic literature search was conducted by the Guideline developer, however the NHMRC has not (except in the case of NHMRC approved guidelines):
   • evaluated the accuracy of the information contained in the guidelines;
   • evaluated the accuracy of the information contained in the corroborating documentation; or
   • evaluated whether the corroborating documentation cited by the guideline in fact supports the statements or recommendations contained within the guideline.

Note: as an interim measure the NHMRC has included on this portal guidelines that do not meet, or partially meet, selection criterion three. Guidelines meeting criterion three are clearly identified on the portal as ‘evidence documented’. In the case of guidelines not meeting or partially meeting selection criterion three, portal users are encouraged to contact the guideline developers directly if they require more information about the evidence sources used to develop the guideline.

4. The full text guideline is available upon request in print or electronic format, in the English language. The guideline is current and the most recent version produced. Documented evidence can be produced or verified that the guideline was developed, reviewed, or revised within the last five years.

Keeping up to date

This portal will be further developed to provide tools and resources for guideline developers. If you’d like to be informed of additions to both the Clinical Practice Portal and Register, subscribe to our Health Tracker newsletter or RSS feed. We also welcome feedback and suggestions on ways to improve the portal.

How do I submit a guideline to the portal?

If you have developed an Australian clinical practice guideline which you believe meets the portal selection criteria, please send a copy to:

Guidelines Research Program

Research Translation Group (Melbourne)

National Health and Medical Research Council
GPO Box 4530
Melbourne, Victoria 3001

If your guideline is in electronic format please email a copy to clinicalguidelines@nhmrc.gov.au

If you are planning, currently developing or updating an Australian clinical practice guideline, you are encouraged to register it on the Guidelines in Development Register.

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