Statements – There are two types of statements; policy statements and research statements. Policy statements present ATS positions on issues that pertain to bioethics, public health policy, health care financing and delivery, medical education, and governmental policy. Research statements present ATS positions on issues that pertain to governmental funding of research, future research needs and initiatives, and other issues that promote or hinder pulmonary, critical care, and sleep research.
Workshop Reports - Workshop reports are summaries of conferences and workshops that were sponsored by the ATS. While most of the content in the report should derive from the conference or workshop, additional discussions and further development of ideas following the conference or workshop are acceptable.
Clinical Practice Guidelines - Clinical practice guidelines make diagnostic and treatment recommendations that assist physicians, other healthcare practitioners, and patients to make decisions about the appropriate course of action in specific clinical situations. They are developed by a multidisciplinary committee, which must include individuals with prior experience in the development of guidelines, systematic reviews, and/or a GRADE-based project.
Clinical Statements - Clinical statements are like clinical practice guidelines in that they make diagnostic and treatment recommendations. Recommendations must be informed by a pragmatic evidence synthesis. They do not require that the GRADE approach be used to create and grade recommendations.
Technical Statements - Technical statements describe how to perform a test or procedure. They do not compare tests or procedures, nor do they identify populations to which a test or procedure should be applied. Technical statements should be based upon evidence, but they do not require a full or pragmatic systematic review of the literature.
For a more detailed description of Statements, Guidelines, Technical Standards & Reports please click here.
For a more detailed explanation of document development including policies and procedures, Methodological tools for systematic reviews and guideline development, and more examples of each type of ATS Document, please visit our ATS page on Documents Development by clicking here.