Guidelines and public consultations

In response to the CMAJ commentary by Chatterjee and colleagues,1 we at BC Guidelines wish to inform the authors that we have used their suggested method of public consultation for our guidelines for the past 10 years.

BCGuidelines.ca is overseen by the Guidelines and Protocols Advisory Committee (GPAC), a joint committee of the BC Medical Association and the British Columbia Ministry of Health. New and revised guidelines are subject to an external peer review to ensure guidelines are clearly written, appropriate, practical, and free from serious oversights or errors.

Each guideline is written by a working group of general practitioners, relevant specialists, a pharmacist and a research officer. The working group reviews current evidence and drafts the guideline, which is reviewed internally by GPAC and then sent for external review. The external review consists of mailing the guideline and accompanying questionnaire to a random sample of general practitioners (between 400 and 800 individuals), relevant specialties (10%–20% sample per specialty) that include nurse practitioners, other allied health professionals and stakeholders. The stakeholders are key contacts in the areas of pharmacy, laboratory procedures, health authorities, medical services plan billing, public health and health professional colleges and associations.

The questionnaire consists of approximately 10 questions that address clarity, applicability, utilization and overall assessment. Space is given for open-ended comments. The feedback from the external review is discussed by the working group, and any necessary changes are made. Before a guideline can be finalized by GPAC and the Medical Services Commission of British Columbia, the feedback received from the external review must be reconciled.

Further information about BC Guidelines can be found at BCGuidelines.ca or hlth.guidelines{at}gov.bc.ca.