AAO-HNSF Endorsement of Quality Knowledge Products Developed by External Organizations
Endorsed by the AAO-HNS/F Executive Committee 6/11/2013
The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and its Foundation (AAO-HNS/F) recognizes that a number of organizations are producing clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and other quality knowledge products that may benefit AAO-HNS/F members and their patients. The AAO-HNS/F has published its own rigorous methodology for developing such quality knowledge products which can be used by other organizations in assessing the standards against which their work product will be evaluated when requesting our endorsement. In these instances, the AAO-HNS/F is committed to evaluating these publications and determining whether an official endorsement is appropriate and/or would benefit Academy members and their patients.
The AAO-HNS/F uses certain criteria to determine eligibility for consideration, and to evaluate its position on endorsing external publications. Meeting eligibility criteria for consideration of endorsement does not guarantee endorsement; neither does endorsement guarantee publication in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery or feature in other AAO-HNS/F web or print materials.
The AAO-HNSF considers external publications eligible for consideration of endorsement based on the following criteria:
- Recommendations are based on peer-reviewed evidence
- The publication is based on a comprehensive, systematic review of the literature
- Cited evidence has been graded or classified according to quality and study design
- Recommendations directly correspond to evidence
- Transparency and appropriate management of conflicts of interest are satisfactorily addressed
- Multi-disciplinary panels are utilized
- Methodology is documented
The AAO-HNS/F encourages external organizations to inform the Academy of their interest in seeking endorsements as early in the development process as possible. Ideally, an otolaryngologist would be included on the development panel and/or the AAO-HNSF would be asked to provide volunteers to participate in the external peer review of the draft document. While cooperative efforts with an external organization are not always feasible, and although the AAO-HNSF does not require involvement in the development process for endorsement consideration, the likelihood of endorsement is increased by the Academy’s involvement in and knowledge of the development of a product.
Request for Endorsement
Contact: AAO-HNSF Research & Quality
Email: [email protected]
The AAO-HNS/F must be given a minimum of 30-days to complete its review. Upon receipt of a request, the AAO-HNS/F will identify the appropriate committees, work groups and/or boards to review the publication. Volunteers will be given a minimum of 2-weeks to complete their review and provide their feedback. Recommendations will be collated, evaluated and presented to the AAO-HNS/F Executive Committee to make a final decision. Should the AAO-HNS/F decide to endorse a product, the Academy will then work with the requesting organization to determine a mutually agreeable strategy to publicize the endorsement.
Should the AAO-HNS/F be developing or plan to develop a product of similar scope or content, the Academy reserves the right to withhold review for endorsement until the relevant development group has finished their literature review and completed work on the AAO-HNS/F manuscript. In this scenario, the development group will review the requesting organization’s product and make a recommendation whether to endorse since they will be the most knowledgeable about the subject matter.
Types of Endorsement
Level of Endorsement:
Official AAO-HNS/F Endorsement
Fully meets AAO-HNS/F standards. AAO-HNS/F can endorse all of the recommendations. The process used to develop the guideline is transparent, methodology is well documented, and conflicts of interest are fully disclosed.
- AAO-HNS/F partner in development of the document:
May be published in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery as official AAO-HNS/F policy. If article is published in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and in journals of collaborating organizations, publication should occur simultaneously. - AAO-HNS/F provided an official representative to the development of the document:
AAO-HNS/F may disseminate the document to its members with the permission of the primary organization. AAO-HNS/F may request permission to publish all, or a portion of or a summary of the document on the AAO-HNS/F website after publication of the article by the primary organizations. - AAO-HNS/F not officially involved in the development of the document:
AAO-HNS/F may disseminate the document with the permission of the primary organization. AAO-HNS/F may request permission to publish all, a portion or a summary of the document on the AAO-HNS/F website after publication of the article by the primary organizations.
Level of Endorsement:
Affirmation of Value to AAO-HNS/F
Either does not fully meeting AAO-HNS/F standards or AAO-HNS/F cannot endorse all recommendations
- AAO-HNS/F partner in development of the document:
AAO-HNSF may distribute the document to its membership via the AAO-HNS/F website as an “educational tool.” The document may list the AAO-HNS/F as an official contributor but not state that theAAO-HNS/F endorses the document. - AAO-HNS/F provided an official representative to the development of the document:
AAO-HNS/F may distribute the document to its membership via the AAO-HNS/F website as an “educational tool.” The document may state that the AAO-HNS/F provided representatives to the development of the guideline, but may not state that the AAO-HNS/F endorses the document. - AAO-HNS/F not officially involved in the development of the document:
AAO-HNS/F may distribute the document to its membership via the AAO-HNS/F website as an “educational tool.” The document may not state that AAO-HNS/F endorses the document. AAO-HNS/F imprimatur may not be used.
Level of Endorsement:
No Endorsement
Does not meet AAO-HNS/F standards; not felt to be of benefit to the membership of AAO-HNS/F
- AAO-HNS/F full partner in development of the document:
AAO-HNS/F will not disseminate the document to its membership. The document may not state that the AAO-HNS/F endorsed the document.
- AAO-HNS/F provided an official representative to the development of the document:
AAO-HNS/F will not disseminate the document to its membership. The document may not state that the AAO-HNS/F endorsed the document.
- AAO-HNS/F not officially involved in the development of the document:
AAO-HNS/F will not disseminate the document to its membership. The document may not state that the AAO-HNS/F endorsed the document.
