Public Comments Policy

From time to time ISHLT may be invited to develop a public comment on an issue of relevance in the field of advanced heart failure and transplantation, advanced lung failure and transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, and/or pulmonary vascular disease. Public Comments are responses to decisions or documents promulgated by others and are in that sense distinct from Health Policy Guidance Statements.

Identification of Need

The impetus to develop a Public Comment may originate from or be brought to the Board by one of the following:

• A member of the leadership of a related organization/regulatory body
• A member of the Board of Directors
• The CEO
• The Chair of the Publications Oversight Committee
• The Chair of the Education Oversight Committee
• The Chair of the Research Oversight Committee
• The Chair of an Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee
• The Chair of the Standards and Guidelines Committee
• The Chair of the Leadership Advisory Forum
• The Chair of the Early Career and Trainee Committee
• An elected representative of one of the Professional Communities

The Board will determine whether or not to respond to a request to develop a Public Comment based upon the following information:

• A summary of the issue (with supporting documentation) on which ISHLT’s comment is requested
• The nature and legitimacy of the organization(s) associated with the issue
• The relevance of the issue to ISHLT members and the patients they serve
• The relevance of the issue from a national or international perspective (national relevance is the minimum expected; international relevance is strongly preferred)
• The value of ISHLT’s contribution to the public discussion
• The presence of sufficient consensus among the profession to merit the development of an ISHLT contribution to the public discussion

Once the Board has decided to develop a Public Comment, the Publications Oversight Committee (POC) will lead the process with support from staff. Such process will consist primarily of:

• Identifying the Professional Communities (PC) and Interdisciplinary Networks whose expert input in needed to draft the Public Comment
• Working with the elected PC leaders and Interdisciplinary Network (IDN) Steering Committees to identify individuals to draft the Public Comment
• Subjecting the draft Public Comment to peer review conducted by the relevant elected PC leaders, the members of the relevant IDN Steering Committees, and the members of the Standards and Guidelines (S&G) Committee.

The structure of Public Comments must adhere to the ISHLT S&G Document Writing Policies.

The final draft Public Comment will be presented to the POC and then the Board for final review and approval.

Staff will submit the Public Comment by the deadline and in the format required.

The decision to publish or disseminate Public Comments on the ISHLT website or in other forums will be decided by the POC and staff.