The content and direction of the empirically derived levels from the skills audit follows the same direction, structure and content as the hypothesised directions mooted by the expert panel in the initial development of the test.
The processes of literature synthesis, investigative team arbitration, and Delphi panel acceptance resulted in the development of eleven EIA stage-one case ascertainment questions.
The consensus panel methodology used in the development phase allowed us to select PIP criteria and alternative treatment options that were prevalent and considered clinically relevant to Irish primary care.
There was substantial consensus in the panel that the development phases are connected and that there are no (strict) boundaries between the phases.
While these results are promising, they are not unexpected, given that the panel members were involved in the development of the guidelines.
All authors (except LC), or their institutions, received an honorarium (from F. Hoffman-La Roche) and reimbursement of travel costs for attending the first Expert Panel meeting that resulted in the development of this paper.
This work was supported by F. Hoffman-La Roche, both for third-party writing assistance for this manuscript as well as the Expert Panel meetings that resulted in the development of this paper.
Finally, a payer advisory panel is being engaged in the development of the impact evaluation process to enhance investigators ability to collect meaningful evidence to inform clinical practice recommendations and guide insurance coverage decisions.
See related research by Fiusa et al., http://ccforum.com/content/17/4/R169 In the previous issue of Critical Care, Fiusa and colleagues [ 1] present the results of their inquiry into the prognostic value of a panel of growth factors in the development of septic shock and death in patients with febrile neutropenia.
A panel of physicians involved in the development of PPR looked at all possible combinations of APR DRGs and predetermined whether each combination involved a readmission that was clinically related to initial admission or the result of a complication from initial admission.
