IDSA Seeking New Lyme Disease Panel to Review Guidelines
that are Under Scrutiny by Attorney General Blumenthal
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is seeking physicians and scientists to volunteer to serve on a review panel to determine whether the Society's 2006 practice guidelines on Lyme disease should be revised or updated.
IDSA has entered into an agreement with the Attorney General of Connecticut ending his antitrust investigation of the Society’s Lyme disease guidelines. Under the agreement, the guidelines remain in effect; but IDSA is agreeing to an extra step: a one-time special review of the literature to determine whether the 2006 Lyme disease guidelines should be revised or updated. The timing of this review is consistent with the usual practice of reviewing published IDSA guidelines for changes every few years, but is distinctive in that the review will be conducted by an independent panel.
To that end, a panel of eight to 12 physicians and scientists will be assembled to review and critically appraise the literature on Lyme disease. The panel will also consider data and other information submitted to IDSA and will hold a public hearing where individuals may present data to the panel for consideration. At the conclusion of this process, the review panel will evaluate whether each of the recommendations in the 2006 guidelines is supported by the scientific evidence and will make a recommendation to IDSA as to whether its 2006 guidelines should be revised or updated. Any proposed recommendations shall require a supermajority of 75 percent or more of the total voting members of the panel.
Medical ethicist Howard Brody, MD, PhD, of the University of Texas Medical Branch, Institute for the Medical Humanities has been jointly selected by the Office of the Attorney General and IDSA and will serve as an ombudsman who will screen applicants for potential conflicts of interest.
The following must be completed, submitted, and received by October 1, 2008: Application, Curriculum Vitae (CV), Notarized Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form.* Interested individuals should carefully review the following selection criteria and time commitment requirements before submitting their application materials.
*Conflict of Interest Disclosure form must be completed online, downloaded, signed by a notary public, and mailed directly to IDSA.
Selection Criteria
The Chair and members of the Panel must meet the following criteria:
* must be a clinician or scientist
*must not have served on any Lyme guideline panel
*must be free of conflicts of interest as determined by the ombudsman
*must be experienced in the review and interpretation of the medical/scientific literature
* must have knowledge of Lyme disease and/or other infectious diseases as evidenced by clinical experience and/or
research experience.
In addition, the Chair must meet the following requirements:
*must be trained in infectious diseases
*must be without any beneficial or financial interest related to Lyme disease as determined by the ombudsman
*must have knowledge of Lyme disease but need not be an expert
*must not have previously published a particular viewpoint on Lyme disease
*must have the ability to complete tasks in a timely manner,
consider varying points of view,
and bring groups of individuals to consensus.
Time Commitment
It is estimated that the review process will take eight - 12 months. Over this period, members of the review panel will be expected to participate in several one- to two-hour conference calls and attend at least one, two-day, in-person meeting that will include the public hearing. Panel members will be required to critically review the literature on Lyme disease. It is estimated that this and any necessary e-mail exchanges will take 10-15 hours per month or two-four hours per week.
If you meet the above mentioned criteria, please complete the following steps:
PLEASE NOTE - Although you may complete these forms in any order, your application will NOT be considered if you have not submitted all materials by October 1, 2008.
STEP 1. Complete and submit the online application at the IDSA website:
www.idsociety.org
STEP 2. Submit your CV. Following submission of the application, you will receive an e-mail prompting you to reply, attaching your CV.
STEP 3. Complete, print, sign, have notarized the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form and mail it to IDSA . (PDF, 1.5 MB may take a few minutes to download).
