🧾 Consensus Meeting
A consensus meeting is a structured, face-to-face (or virtual) gathering of experts, stakeholders, or representatives from relevant fields aimed at reaching agreement on a specific issue where evidence may be uncertain, incomplete, or requires contextual interpretation.
🎯 Purpose
- Achieve agreement on clinical or policy decisions.
- Finalize recommendations developed through prior methods (e.g. Delphi rounds).
- Prioritize outcomes, indicators, or interventions.
- Resolve outstanding disagreements from previous consensus steps.
🧩 Common Contexts
- Development of:
- Clinical practice guidelines
- Core Outcome Sets (COS)
- Ethical frameworks
- Health technology assessments
- Consensus on:
- Definitions
- Diagnostic criteria
- Treatment appropriateness
🧑⚖️ Structure and Process
- Participants: Multidisciplinary experts, clinicians, patients, policymakers.
- Chairperson: Neutral moderator to guide discussion.
- Format:
- Presentation of background evidence
- Open discussion
- Structured debate
- Voting (anonymous or open)
- Consensus defined (e.g., ≥70% agreement)
- Documentation: Minutes, consensus statement, list of unresolved issues.
🛠️ Integration With Other Methods
- Often follows a Delphi process.
- Used to finalize outcomes of RAND/UCLA ratings.
- Can serve as the final stage in COS development.
✅ Advantages
- Allows real-time clarification and negotiation.
- Facilitates understanding of differing viewpoints.
- Enables consensus through direct interaction.
❌ Limitations
- Risk of dominant voices influencing decisions.
- Requires effective facilitation.
- Logistically complex and time-consuming.
📚 Reporting Standards
- COMET Handbook – for core outcome set development
- GRADE – for guideline panels
- Clearly report:
- Participant selection
- Evidence used
- Consensus criteria
- Outcomes
See also: Consensus Methodology | Delphi Method | RAND/UCLA Method