The NICS Using Evidence: Using Guidelines Symposium, held in Melbourne on 19 and 20 October 2006, attracted unprecedented levels of interest in the implementation of evidence-based guidelines.

The symposium focused on the barriers and enablers to getting existing guidelines into everyday clinical practice, while recognising that the quality and usefulness of guidelines is influenced by the methods used to develop them.

NICS would like to thank all those whose valuable contributions made the event possible, including international keynote speakers Professor Susan Michie, Professor of Health Psychology, University College London, and Dr Brian Mittman, Senior Social Scientist, Center for the Study of Healthcare Provider Behavior, Veterans Affairs, USA . We would also like to thank the health professionals, policy makers and researchers from across Australia who contributed to the plenary sessions, and more than 100 authors who submitted abstracts for discussion.

Thanks also to those who contributed feedback on the Symposium. Your comments will help us improve the way we plan future events.

The presentations, abstracts and resource materials developed for the Symposium are now available on this website.