About Team Physician Consensus Conference Statements

Definition:

The Team Physician Consensus Conference (TPCC) is a project-based alliance with partners including the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine. The group meets annually to produce a consensus statement, which is a blend of evidence-based research and expert consensus.

Purpose:

The TPCC series addresses select medical issues in the care and treatment of athletes. The resulting documents serve as guidance and teaching tools for physicians working in the sports medicine field, regardless of geographical location or level of team or athlete.

How Topic is Identified:

Each year, members of the project-based alliance provide input on future topics. Members of the ACSM Clinical Sports Medicine Leadership committee review these topics, suggest their own and vote on the topic for the following year. 

Protocol for Paper Development:

The outline for the paper is developed by the ACSM Executive Committee of the TPCC enterprise. Once TPCC delegates are identified by each partner organization, those individuals are assigned “homework,” essentially aspects of the outlined paper. Delegates then review the literature, gather clinical evidence and write draft copy for their assigned area. Homework is collected by the consultant, who serves as the medical writer/scribe, and inserted into the paper outline; references and suggested readings are added, as well. Upon arrival at the conference site, the Executive Committee, often joined by one or two experts, begins the process of editing the paper line by line, as well as checking for updated references.  This process takes 12-16 hours. The following day and one-half, delegates gather and review the draft paper to ensure accuracy and thoroughness. Before departing, all delegates sign off on the paper.

Review and Approvals:

In the ensuing weeks, ACSM’s TPCC Executive Committee reviews the paper again, along with the consultant, experts and ACSM’s chief science officer to ensure references are correct and that all statements are backed by evidence-based literature or expert consensus. Once complete, the paper is sent to alliance organizations for formal approval. For ACSM, the conference facilitator presents the paper to the Administrative Council for ACSM Board of Trustee approval. 

Normally published/communicated:

TPCC papers have traditionally been jointly published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise_® and Current Sports Medicine Reports.