Keeping pathways up-to-date

Map of Medicine pathways are valid for 18 months after publication. However, interim updates can be made every quarter in response to changes in the information landscape.

Searches of both the indexed and grey literature are undertaken for all pathway topics every two months. Feedback is collected from users year-round. The information is triaged so that important changes to the information landscape are incorporated into the pathways as interim updates.

Other information is considered at the next scheduled update, which begins 12 months after the previous publication date. A scheduled update includes all recently published, quality-assessed secondary literature, practice-based knowledge, healthcare policy information, where appropriate, and user feedback.

The pathway is potentially redrafted, including further peer review. This process takes up to six months. The new version of the pathway is, therefore, published 18 months after the previous version.