Protocols and documents

If you have a protocol or document that you would like developed on eviQ, please submit your request by completing the Submit a protocol or document form. You are required to be logged into the site to complete the form.
 

A drug must be PBS listed and/or TGA registered for a particular indication in order for it to be included on the eviQ website for that indication.
 

A sufficient level of evidence to support the use of the protocol or document based on the indications and patient population, must be provided with the submission.

You will receive an initial response to your submission from the eviQ team within 7 working days.

Submissions are reviewed periodically by the relevant reference committee to decide whether the protocol or document should proceed to development.
 

The eviQ Data Governance Framework provides an overview of the process for a protocol after it has been submitted for inclusion on eviQ.

Submitted protocols that are currently being developed for inclusion on eviQ are listed on the Protocols under development page. Please check this page prior to completing the submission form.

Protocols considered and rejected for development by the reference committee can be found on the Protocols not endorsed page including the reason for rejection. Please check this page prior to completing the submission form.

A protocol or document on eviQ may have one of four statuses:

ENDORSED, UNDER REVIEW, SUPERSEDED or DISCONTINUED. 
 

A protocol or document's status is displayed in the top grey status bar:

For protocols or documents that are under review, discontinued or superseded, this is also included in at the end of the title in capital letters. 

• A protocol is superseded when other treatment options are considered superior based on new evidence.
• Superseded protocols may be clinically appropriate for some patients when considering individual circumstances.
• Before a protocol is superseded, consensus to ‘supersede’ must be reached by the relevant eviQ reference committee.
• Superseded protocol content remains available in its entirety on the eviQ website. 'SUPERSEDED’ is added to the protocol title and status, and the reason for superseding displayed at the top of the page.
• As a superseded protocol may be clinically appropriate for use in some patients, it is reviewed and updated regularly by eviQ.

• A protocol is discontinued when it is not appropriate for clinical use as it is excessively toxic or less effective compared to other treatment options, or is no longer in clinical use.
• A discontinued protocol is one that should no longer be used to treat patients.
• Before a protocol is discontinued, consensus to ‘discontinue’ must be reached by the relevant eviQ reference committee.
• Discontinued protocol content is removed from the eviQ website. It is replaced with a simplified treatment schedule, related references and protocol history. ‘DISCONTINUED’ is added to the protocol title and status, and the reason for discontinuing displayed at the top of the page. 
• As a discontinued protocol is considered not clinically appropriate, it is not reviewed or updated by eviQ.

Protocol or document version number increases when a notable change to a section is carried out. All changes are noted in the History section found by clicking on the Calendar icon  at the top right of each protocol page.

All eviQ treatment protocols are periodically reviewed every one, two or four years to ensure content is based on the latest rigorous evidence. Protocols are stratified into three groups according the following criteria:

Please note that the following information can be found in each protocol by clicking on the information icon located next to the calculated protocol cost:

• The cost displayed on the protocol is intended as rudimentary guide only for the Australian context.
• The cost includes anti-cancer drugs only (not antiemetics, other supportive medications or consumables), unless otherwise indicated.
• Drug unit costs are taken directly from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) website (www.pbs.gov.au), MIMS Online and other sources. These costs are reviewed and updated on eviQ at 6 monthly intervals.
• Where there are differing unit costs based on vial sizes and tablet strengths, the mean unit cost is used. The cost of oral continuous therapy is based on 28 day month.
• The protocol cost is derived from drug dose calculations based upon a default body surface area (BSA) of 1.8 m²; weight of 75 kg; and creatinine clearance of 75 mL/min.
• One off loading doses are not included in protocol cost calculations.
• The cost displayed is the actual drug cost and does not necessarily reflect the cost incurred by the patient as many anti-cancer drugs are reimbursed on the PBS.

On each protocol, click the patient icon  in the top bar to open  to the associated patient sheet. You can also access the patient information sheets by clicking on the patient and carers menu.

Tall Man lettering is a typographic technique that uses selective capitalisation to help make look-alike, sound-alike (LASA) medicine name pairs easier to differentiate e.g. DOXOrubicin and DAUNOrubicin.

Medicine names that look or sound alike have been identified as a common cause of medication errors.

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) has developed the National Tall Man Lettering List to help health professionals reduce the risk of medicine selection errors from shelves and in electronic systems.

Please refer to the ACSQHC National Tall Man Lettering List page for further information and access to the latest Tall Man Lettering List December 2020 and the Supplementary list: 'mabs', 'nibs' and 'gibs'.

eviQ protocols have adopted the Tall Man Lettering for anti-cancer drug names appearing in protocol titles and within the protocol treatment schedules.

Information on the eviQ website is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 license (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for non-commercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. 

For more information regarding this license and eviQ copyright, and specific examples of how to reference/cite/adapt eviQ information in line with this license please see the Disclaimer and copyright page.

There is evidence for several mesna doses as well as differing administration timings (e.g. 2, 4, 6, or 8 hours post initiation or completion of the ifosfamide/cyclophosphamide dose) with no clear evidence that one particular regimen is superior over another. The eviQ mesna recommendations may be based upon the individual trial/study or eviQ Reference Committee consensus and provide guidance on one safe way to administer the protocol. Individual institutional policy may vary and should be evidence based.

eviQ does not receive specific information regarding drug shortages. eviQ generally does not post information regarding drugs that are in short supply or provide information regarding alternative drug options.

The Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) manages and publishes information about drug shortages across the country. Please refer to their Medicine Shortages Information Initiative webpage. 

eviQ forms e.g. assessment tools are designed to be used to as part of local patient records. The form should be downloaded from the eviQ website each time it is to be used to ensure you are using the latest version.

eviQ forms may be adapted for use at your local facility. They must be referenced appropriately including the eviQ ID number, version number and direct URL. Please refer to the 'How do I reference eviQ' FAQ above. Any changes to the form should follow your local forms approval policy/procedure and be noted as adapted from the original eviQ form. You should check the eviQ website regularly for document updates. We recommend you subscribe to our monthly eviQ newsletters to receive regular updates.