Cochrane Systematic Review, Health Technology Assessment, and Clinical Practice Guidelines in Japan

Abstract

It has been 15 years since clinical practice guidelines were introduced and implemented in Japan, and the quality of the guidelines has dramatically improved. Clinical practice guidelines, health technology assessments, and systematic reviews share common methodologies, and combinations of these programs have flourished and/or been explored in many organizations and countries such as the National Institute of Clinical and Care Excellence (United Kingdom). In this review, the relationship among the three programs in Japan was explored. Systematic reviews are an essential methodology for both clinical practice guidelines and health technology assessment. Promoting the collaborative use of the three programs in Japan should be encouraged, and the minimum requirements for a "systematic review" should be determined. The role of clinical practice guidelines in the national health policy should also be determined to check whether Japanese clinical practice guidelines should be assessed against the advancing guideline development, reporting and evaluation in health care (AGREE) II and whether they should incorporate economic analyses.