Guidelines for evidence synthesis reporting: medications.

In the process of determining if a drug is valuable enough to be included in a hospital's pharmacotherapeutic repertoire many factors should be taken into account. In order to develop a guide, the methodology of different appraisal working groups and similar methodological documents published by Health Technology Assessment agencies have been taken into account. We recommend that reports are structured with the following headings: Medication/Description/Authorised indication; Description of the disease; Pathology reference treatment; Evaluation of efficacy and safety (Bibliographic search, Quality assessment, Efficacy and safety results); Assessment of ethical, organisational, social and legal aspects; Strengths and limitations of available evidence; Pharmacoeconomic evaluation; and Key points. This guide to evaluate technologies may be used as a tool in decision-making scenarios related to health innovation. It could be used by hospital pharmacists and by clinicians, health system professionals and public services advisors.