The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) and OpenEvidence, a leading AI-powered medical search and decision support platform, have partnered to help keep clinical practice guidelines aligned with the latest evidence while scaling up coverage. This first-of-its-kind approach leverages OpenEvidence’s technology and up-to-date to the day evidence base to augment expert clinician insight and real-world expertise in creating and updating practice guidelines.

Clinical practice guidelines define the standard of care for millions of patients around the United States, but they require an immense amount of time and effort to create and keep updated. These efforts are largely driven by expert clinicians who volunteer to review emerging literature and build collective consensus. In today's world of ever-changing practice, it has become an increasingly challenging task to maintain the required breadth, depth, and timeliness that make practice guidelines so valuable.

To address this challenge, OpenEvidence developed a methodology in close collaboration with AAO-HNSF that systematically evaluates guideline recommendations against the current medical literature, flagging specific recommendations for review when new evidence supports revising the existing guidance or reaffirms the existing guidance. AAO-HNSF has applied the methodology to several of its clinical practice guidelines and is the first medical society to pilot this novel approach.

"Physicians trust clinical guidelines to inform some of their most critical decisions. By using OpenEvidence to continuously monitor emerging literature, we can make sure that guidance stays accurate and relevant, rather than waiting years for a scheduled review cycle to catch up,” said Kristine Schulz, DrPH, MPH, Chief Research Officer of AAO-HNSF. "This partnership is one of the ways we are actively exploring smarter, faster approaches to keeping our recommendations aligned with the latest evidence, so that physicians have the most reliable guidance possible, and patients receive care that reflects it.”

"What excites me most about this work is what it represents for how OpenEvidence and medical societies can collaborate. This isn't AI replacing clinical judgment. It’s a new model for how AI can accelerate the way medical knowledge evolves," said Mondira Ray, MD, MBI, Senior Vice President of Clinical Informatics, OpenEvidence, who led the project.

OpenEvidence works with leading medical societies to help clinicians access authoritative guidance at the point of care. By applying its technology to the process of maintaining clinical guidelines, OpenEvidence aims to make it easier for medical societies to keep recommendations up-to-date without requiring the enormous manual effort that guideline updates have historically demanded. Together with its society partners, OpenEvidence is advancing how clinical guidance keeps pace with the evidence that informs it.

About the AAO-HNSF

The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) is one of the world’s largest organizations representing specialists who treat conditions of the ear, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck. With approximately 13,000 members, the Academy supports physicians who diagnose and treat some of the most common medical conditions affecting patients of all ages, including hearing loss, sinus disease, sleep disorders, voice and swallowing disorders, and head and neck cancers. Through education, research, and quality improvement initiatives, the AAO-HNS Foundation advances the art, science, and ethical practice of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery to improve patient care worldwide. Learn more at www.entnet.org.

About OpenEvidence

OpenEvidence is the most widely used medical AI platform among U.S. physicians, and is trusted by hundreds of thousands of verified clinicians to make high-stakes clinical decisions at the point of care with answers that are sourced, cited, and grounded in peer-reviewed medical literature. OpenEvidence was founded with the mission to organize and expand the world's collective medical knowledge. Learn more at openevidence.com.

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"By using OpenEvidence to continuously monitor emerging literature, we can make sure that guidance stays accurate and relevant, rather than waiting years for a scheduled review cycle to catch up." Kristine Schulz, DrPH, Chief Research Officer of AAO-HNSF