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NETS

NET-S is administered by the Australian Safety and Efficacy Register of New Interventional Procedures - Surgical (ASERNIP-S) in conjunction with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and is a member of the Australian and New Zealand Horizon Scanning Network.

As a result of recent collaboration with the Australian and New Zealand Horizon Scanning Network (see background), classification of surgical procedures assessed and listed within the NET-S Database have changed. Surgical procedures detected through the horizon scanning process are now assessed via Horizon Scanning Technology Prioritising Summaries and Horizon Scanning Reports. Surgical procedures that have more widespread use in Australia, or that are already established into routine surgical practice, are assessed via Accelerated Systematic Reviews, Systematic Reviews or Technology Overviews.

Assessments of surgical procedures are still available through the NET-S Database, but new assessment reports are now also available through our new publications page.

About the Net-S Database of Procedures

NET-S was developed with the aim of providing an early warning system for identification of new and emerging surgical techniques and technologies prior to their introduction into routine clinical practice. NET-S has developed unique methodologies to improve the horizon scanning process, particularly in the area of surgery.

This is occurring through the following strategies:

• direct communication with Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
• close surveillance of abstracts presented at relevant specialty meetings
• ongoing searching of the literature describing new techniques and technologies
• establishing links with key players and targeting other appropriate groups, such as medical device manufacturers
• soliciting input from surgeons, consumers and other relevant groups via this website.

Each procedure in the database is assigned one of the following classifications:

• Horizon Scanning Technology Prioritising Summary
  Short (approximately two to three pages) reports that provide a summary of new and emerging surgical technologies or techniques which can be used as a basis for deciding if a procedure should be further assessed, monitored in a further 12 months or archived. If further assessment is required on a procedure which is yet to emerge or is emerging into Australian healthcare following a prioritising summary, then it would be recommended for a Horizon Scanning Report. Horizon Scanning Technology Prioritising Summaries are available on request.

• Horizon Scanning Report
  Reports that assess surgical technologies or techniques that are new or emerging into Australian healthcare. Completed Horizon Scanning Reports are available on this website.

• Accelerated Systematic Review
  Accelerated systematic reviews assess surgical procedures that have more widespread use in Australia, and generally have more peer-reviewed information available, than a Horizon Scanning Report. Accelerated systematic reviews are produced in response to a need for a systematic summary and appraisal of available literature for a new or emerging surgical procedure. This need may arise if the uptake of the new technique or technology appears to be inappropriate given the evidence available at the time (it may be diffusing too quickly or too slowly). Alternatively, there may be uncertainty or controversy regarding the clinical or cost effectiveness of the new procedure, or there may be significant concerns regarding its safety or indications for use in particular populations. Accelerated systematic reviews use the same methodology as full systematic reviews, but may restrict the types of studies considered (for example, by only including comparative studies and not case series) in order to produce the review in a shorter time period than a full systematic review. Completed Accelerated Systematic Reviews are available on this website.

• Systematic Review
  Systematic reviews assess surgical procedures through the use of a clearly formulated question using systematic and explicit methods to identify, critically appraise and summarise relevant studies (published and unpublished) according to predetermined criteria. Reported outcomes can be synthesised either quantitatively or narratively or can include meta-analysis to statistically analyse and summarise the results of the included studies. Systematic reviews are fundamental tools for decision-making by health professionals, consumers and policy makers, as they provide conclusions based on research evidence. Completed Systematic Reviews are available on this website.

• Technology Overview
  Technology overviews aim to provide information to assist decision-makers to make their own evidence-based recommendations. The technology overview is not a systematic review, and does not attempt to compare the safety and efficacy of a single intervention and provide a recommendation for use.

• Awaiting Review
  Nominated surgical procedures that are already established into routine surgical practice and will be prioritisied for review by ASERNIP-S.

• Under Review
  Nominated surgical procedures being reviewed by ASERNIP-S.