Implementing the Melanoma Guidelines
Project Update (March 2010)
The Implementation Plan for the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Melanoma in Australia and New Zealand was delivered to the Ministry of Health on 12 March 2010.
Guideline recommendations identified as priority for implementation within the plan include those on:
- Prevention
- High risk assessment
- Dermoscopy
- Biopsy
- Excision margins
- Histopathology reporting
- Patient communication
- Melanoma data collection
The Project
MelNet was one of the consortium partners working on developing an implementation plan for The Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Melanoma in Australia and New Zealand.
The Ministry of Health selected a consortium led by the New Zealand Guidelines Group (NZGG) to develop the plan. The other consortium partners were the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP), the New Zealand Regional Cancer Networks, the Cancer Society of New Zealand (CSNZ) and the Health Sponsorship Council.
NZGG established an Implementation Advisory Group (IAG) for the project. The IAG was chaired by Associate Professor Graham Stevens, Radiation Oncologist, Auckland. Graham was the Chair of the New Zealand Melanoma Reference Group that oversaw New Zealand involvement in development of the guidelines.
The IAG had the MelNet Establishment Committee at its core of eleven members, ensuring broad multidisciplinary representation. The CSNZ and the RNZCGP also were represented on the IAG by Dr Judith Galtry and Dr Chris Boberg respectively, and the consumer perspective by Anne Ackerman, former Executive Director of the Melanoma Foundation.
