'''Medical consensus''' is a public statement on a particular aspect of [[Medicine|medical]] knowledge at the time the statement is made that a representative group of experts agree to be [[Evidence-based medicine|evidence-based]] and [[State of the art|state-of-the-art]] (state-of-the-science) knowledge.<ref>Council of Europe, [http://www.leitlinien.de/mdb/edocs/pdf/literatur/coe-rec-2001-13.pdf Developing a methodology for drawing up guidelines on best medical practice] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202140857/http://www.leitlinien.de/mdb/edocs/pdf/literatur/coe-rec-2001-13.pdf |date=2019-12-02 }} (Recommendation Rec(2001)13 and explanatory memorandum), Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing, 2002.</ref> Its main objective is to counsel [[Medical doctor|physicians]] on the best possible and acceptable way to diagnose and treat certain [[disease]]s or how to address a particular [[decision-making]] area. It is usually, therefore, considered an authoritative, community-based expression of a [[consensus decision-making]] and publication process.
==Methods== There are many ways of producing medical consensus, but the most usual way is to convene an independent panel of experts, either by a [[medical association]] or by a governmental authority.
Since consensus statements provide a "snapshot in time" of the state of knowledge in a particular topic, they must periodically be re-evaluated and published again, replacing the previous consensus statement.
Consensus statements differ from [[Guideline (medical)|medical guideline]]s, another form of state-of-the-science public statements. According to the NIH, "Consensus statements synthesize new information, largely from recent or ongoing [[medical research]], that has implications for reevaluation of routine medical practices. They do not give specific [[algorithm]]s or guidelines for practice."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://aspe.hhs.gov/hhs-guidelines-ensuring-maximizing-disseminated-information |title=Guidelines for Ensuring the Quality of Information Disseminated to the Public |date=13 December 2006 |publisher=United States Department of Health and Human Services |access-date=18 August 2013}}</ref>
== History == From 1977 to 2013, the [[National Institutes of Health]] (United States) promoted about five to six consensus panels per year, and organized this knowledge by means of a special Consensus Development Program, managed by the NIH's Office of Disease Prevention (ODP). It was retired in 2013 in deference to other agencies and organizations that had picked up the lead, such as the [[U.S. Preventive Services Task Force]], the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160206063735/http://www.thecommunityguide.org/about/aboutTF.html Community Preventive Services Task Force], [http://iom.nationalacademies.org/ Institute of Medicine], and [[Cochrane (organization)|Cochrane]]. Its archive is available in printed form as well as for downloading from the Internet.[https://web.archive.org/web/20100122075631/http://consensus.nih.gov/previous.htm]
==See also== {{col div|colwidth=30em}} * [[Decision-making|Medical decision making]] * [[Evidence-based medicine]] * [[Medical literature]] * [[Medical research]] * [[Guideline (medical)]] * [[Journal club|Journal Club]] * [[Algorithm (medical)]] * [[Scientific consensus]] {{colend}}
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/ U.S. Preventive Services Task Force] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20131210015004/http://www.thecommunityguide.org/index.html The Guide to Community Preventive Services] * [http://iom.nationalacademies.org/ Institute of Medicine] * [http://www.cochrane.org/ Cochrane] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100122075631/http://consensus.nih.gov/previous.htm NIH Consensus Development Conference archives] (through the end of the program in 2013)
{{Health care quality}}
[[Category:Medical terminology]] [[Category:Health care quality]] [[Category:Consensus]]