Clinical
Guidance

AACE makes every attempt to maintain the currency of its clinical practice guidelines to ensure they remain pertinent regarding newly published literature, practice variation, scientific advancement, controversy, or patient benefits and harms. The AACE Clinical Practice Guidelines Oversight Committee and AACE leadership approve guideline updates, depending on the topic, changes in practice, and new evidence that could impact recommendations. The AACE Clinical Practice Guidelines Oversight Committee determines the prioritization and timeline for updates of guidelines. Any updated AACE guideline will require de novo development until it adheres to the GRADE approach.

The AACE Clinical Practice Guidelines Oversight Committee determines retirement of clinical guidance documents. After careful assessment, AACE could retire a guidance document if it no longer aligns with the mission or position of AACE; is determined to be obsolete or contain inappropriate or outdated language; or another organization has developed guidance on the same topic which AACE co-sponsored or endorsed.

Archived Guidance Documents

AACE consensus statements provide expert guidance developed by subject matter experts and represent the mission and position of AACE on specific and timely topics in clinical endocrinology. While consensus statements are based on evidence and follow a consistent process, they do not require systematic appraisal of evidence and follow a less formal development process than AACE clinical practice guidelines. Clinical algorithms are a type of consensus statement that provide visual guidance to support clinical decision-making at the point of care. To support AACE’s commitment to DEI, consensus statements consider health disparities/equity.

In addition to consensus statements, AACE also develops clinical practice guidelines.

The AACE Clinical Practice Guidelines Oversight Committee evaluates and approves all topic nominations for guidance documents twice a year in March and September. The following criteria are considered during selection of topics:

• Relevance to AACE membership
• Potential to address gaps in clinical practice
• Potential to improve clinical practice
• Extent of available evidence

The Clinical Practice Guidelines Oversight Committee determines priority of development according to relevancy to AACE members, organizational priorities, projects in queue, and available resources.

Any AACE member in good standing who meets the chair/author qualifications may apply to serve on an AACE task force during a call for authors for a specific guidance document. Clinical guidance document task forces are multidisciplinary groups comprised of medical professionals who are subject matter experts. Clinical practice guideline task forces may also include a methodologist, a methodology fellow, and/or a medical librarian.

The Clinical Practice Guidelines Oversight Committee, Conflicts of Interest Subcommittee, and assigned Empanelment Workgroup conduct a formal review of applications and disclosures in compliance with policies and protocol for AACE guidance documents, Conflicts of Interest (COI) Policy, and commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to nominate potential task force authors. Empanelment workgroups receive training on decreasing bias in selection of applicants and are encouraged to rate all candidates impartially, considering objective skills and abilities. The AACE president provides final approval of authors who serve on guidance document task forces. It is AACE's goal to reflect the AACE community in task forces with increased participation across demographics, career level, work setting, and profession to ensure equitable access to opportunities at AACE and to engage multiple perspectives to better serve our patients.

If you are interested in serving as an author or chair of a future AACE guidance document, be on the lookout for calls for authors in the AACE weekly email, on the AACE website, at conferences, and on social media. There will be a link in the call for authors to submit your application and disclosure for consideration.

Chairs and authors of clinical practice guidelines who accept their appointment must commit to full participation in development during a 1- to 2-year timeline. Chairs and authors of consensus statements who accept their appointment must commit to full participation in development during a 1-year timeline. All work is conducted virtually.

For more information about author and chair qualifications and policies related to empanelment:

• Chair and Author Qualifications Policy
• Conflicts of Interest Policy
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

AACE values the expertise and experience of clinicians and other health care professionals in development of AACE guidance documents. As such, nominated authors must be AACE members in good standing and ideally have experience or training in epidemiology, clinical trials, and/or evidence-based medicine. Additional information regarding required chair and author qualifications can be found here.

AACE requires all individuals who develop, review, and approve AACE guidance documents to comply with the AACE Conflicts of Interest Policy, disclose any financial, intellectual, organizational, or other relationships for the preceding 24 months, and verify accuracy of current disclosures. Disclosures are reviewed for conflicts by the AACE Conflicts of Interest Subcommittee and AACE Clinical Practice Guidelines Oversight Committee which determine manageability of disclosures. Authors should not take on new activities/relationships during development of an AACE guidance document.

We at AACE are committed to embracing diversity. We believe that inclusion, representation, and access to opportunities for all make our global community stronger and better. We will ensure a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion across AACE’s membership, leadership, governance, and educational activities, as well as the community at large. We are working to foster a welcoming environment that allows everyone in the AACE community to contribute, innovate, and thrive. Together, we are elevating clinical endocrinology to improve global health. Together, we are AACE. Click here to read more about AACE’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and how participants are selected with regard for DEI.

Requests for permission to reproduce or reuse content from AACE guidance documents are handled through Elsevier, the publisher for Endocrine Practice.

AACE provides all financial support for development or update of its clinical guidance documents and does not accept industry funding in any form for their production. Moreover, AACE does not allow any entity (including industry and government) with a financial interest in health care delivery to influence the objectivity of AACE guidance documents.

AACE welcomes the opportunity to collaborate and support clinical guidance of other medical specialty societies and related organizations.

AACE defines co-sponsorship as the co-development of a clinical guidance document by two or more organizations, with full participation of a representative of the invited organization, and endorsement as the official recommendation/approval of a guideline or consensus statement to membership without co-sponsorship.

Co-sponsorship or endorsement of an external clinical guidance document may be preferable to developing an independent AACE guideline or consensus statement to harmonize recommendations among relevant organizations and reduce conflicting or overlapping guidance; to increase adoption of a guideline or consensus statement across multiple specialties; and/or to provide guidance that might not be feasible otherwise due to the resource-intensive nature of development. In addition, content of an external guidance document could provide valuable ancillary knowledge for AACE members to improve the care of patients. AACE may also provide peer reviewers for another organization’s manuscript upon request.

The AACE Clinical Practice Guidelines Oversight Committee and AACE Executive Committee review and approve all requests for co-sponsorship, endorsement, and peer review.

If you are interested in collaborating with AACE, please email [email protected] with your specific request.

AACE requests a minimum of 8 weeks for decision to endorse a manuscript (including co-sponsored documents with an external organization as lead).

AACE requests a minimum of 4 weeks for a decision to accept a co-sponsorship invitation. For accepted invitations, the AACE Conflicts of Interest Subcommittee reviews disclosures of potential AACE representatives before nomination. AACE and co-sponsoring external organizations formally partner based on agreed terms.