OBJECTIVE To provide a detailed report and interpretation of the method and results for determining the weights of the technical indicators from the “multi-dimensional and multi-criteria comprehensive evaluation index system （first edition）” stated in Guideline for Multi-dimensional and Multi-criteria Comprehensive Evaluation of Chinese Patent Medicine. METHODS Normalization calculations were performed on the comprehensive weight values calculated by the analytic hierarchy process and expert weighting method to obtain the objective weights of the indicators. RESULTS The weight results of the six primary dimensions in the current comprehensive evaluation indicator system of Chinese patent medicine showed effectiveness dimension＞ safety dimension＞standard dimension＞application dimension＞scientific dimension＞economic dimension， with weight values of 0.281 0， 0.268 5， 0.195 8， 0.107 3， 0.096 1 and 0.051 3 respectively， consistent with the results of most researches currently. CONCLUSIONS The process of weight determination in this indicator system is scientifically reasonable， with clear methods and clear interpretations， and is worthy of further optimization and widespread application.

Rapid and living guidelines are those developed in response to public health emergencies in a short period of time using a scientific and standardized approach. Subsequently， they provide timely and credible recommendations for decision makers through regular and frequent updates of clinical evidence and recommendations. In this paper， we introduced the definition of rapid and living guideline as well as analyzed the basic characteristics of eight rapid and living guidelines in the field of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） published till 2023 June， summarizing three core methodological issues in relation to how to rapidly develop guidelines， how to formulate recommendations when there is lack of evidence， and how to ensure the timeliness of guidelines. Based on the analysis of current rapid and living guidelines， it is implicated that there is necessity to carry out rapid and living guideline in the field of TCM， and the methodology of rapid integration of multivariate evidence in the field of TCM needs to be further explored； furthermore， it is necessary to further explore the obstacles of implementation of guidelines and promote timely updating， all of which provide certain theoretical references for relevant guideline developers and researchers.

It is necessary to develop rapid and living guidelines in order to improve the evidence translation and guidance for clinical practice in emergency situations， and to enhance the participation of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in management of emergencies. This paper introduced the process of developing rapid and living guidelines of TCM and divided it into three stages， that is preparation， rapid development and dynamic updating， which highlights the features of rapid development， high quality， and dynamic updating and the integration with the predominance of TCM. By comparing with general guidelines on composition， personnel number， timing to formulate and communication patterns of the guideline working groups， as well as the content and number of clinical questions， this paper mainly gave suggestions on how to formulate a concise but authoritative team during the preparation stage， how to efficiently manage the guideline team and promote the development process from conflict of interest management， working and communication mode adjustment， and how to formulate and update the important and prioritized clinical questions， all of which may provide reference for the development of TCM rapid and living guidelines.

The lack of direct evidence is an important problem faced in the formation of recommendations in rapid living guidelines of traditional Chinese medicine under public health emergencies， and the supplementation of indirect evidence can be a key method to solve this problem. For the collection of evidence， the type of evidence required， including direct and indirect evidence， should be clarified， and ‘direct first’ principle for selecting evidence can be set to standardize and accelerate the guideline development. When integrating evidence， recommendations can be formed directly if there is sufficient direct evidence， while regarding insufficient direct evidence， recommendations need to be supplemented and improved by integrating indirect evidence. In addition， when the body of evidence contains evidence from multiple sources， it is suggested to rate the evidence according to “higher rather than lower” principle. Finally， when forming recommendations， the level of evidence， safety and economic efficiency should be taken into consideration to determine the strength of the recommendation.

In developing rapid and living guidelines of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in response to public health emergencies， it is important that evidence continue to be reviewed， and clinical questions and recommendations updated if necessary， due to the rapid changes in disease progression and the continuous generation of relevant research evidence. This paper proposed that the updating scope in dynamic mode should first be identified； then evidence monitoring should be carried out in four aspects， including clinical research， related guidelines or laws and regulations， disease progression， as well as clinical use of recommendations and clinical needs； finally， based on the results of the evidence monitoring， different options should be made， including revising the clinical questions， updating the evidence and recommendations， and withdrawing the guideline.

This study used the Appraisal of Guidelines Research & Evaluation-Health Systems （AGREE-HS） to demonstratively compare 34 global coronavirus disease-2019 （COVID-19） health systems guidance documents （HSGs） and 6 World Health Organization （WHO） standard HSGs. The comparison involved topic， participants， methods， recommendations， and implementability， with the aim of exploring the characteristics of emergency HSGs. The results showed that the emergency HSGs had an overall average score of 49%， with topic having the highest score， recommendations having the second highest score， and participants having the lowest score. The standard HSGs had an overall average score of 79%， with high scores in all items. The emergency HSGs had lower scores in participants， methods， recommendations， and implementability than the standard HSGs （P<0.001）， while the COVID-19 emergency HSGs developed by the WHO had higher score in topic than the standard HSGs （P<0.05）. Compared with those released by countries， the COVID-19 emergency HSG developed by the WHO showed superiority in all items and overall scores （P=0.000 2）. This indicates that emergency HSGs， represented by the COVID-19 emergency HSG， place equal emphasis on topic and recommendations as standard HSGs but have low requirements in terms of expert participation， evidence support， and comprehensive consideration in the time- and resource-limited context. They have the characteristics of prominent topics， clear purposes， orientation to demand， keeping up with the latest evidence， flexible adjustment， and timeliness， emphasizing immediate implementation effects， weakening long-term effects， and focusing on comprehensive benefits. Additionally， developers， types， and report completeness are important influencing factors.

The irrational use of Chinese patent medicines （CPM） is becoming more and more prominent， which makes the demand for clinical practice guidelines of CPM gradually increase. In order to make domestic scholars understand the latest developments and existing problems of the CPM guidelines， and promote its development， this paper introduced the concept of CPM guidelines， summarized the characteristics of the two development modes， namely “taking CPM as the key” and “taking disease/syndrome as the key”， and analyzed the current methodological status of developing and reporting CPM guidelines. Based on the existed problems， three suggestions have been put forward to optimize the quality of CPM guidelines， which were clarifying the target users and scope of CPM guidelines， establishing an open and transparent mechanism of the personnel involvement and process steps， and formulating implementable and operable recommendations for the use of CPM.

This paper summarized the key points and methods in terms of the establishment of the guideline working group and the management of conflict of interests， trying to provide reference for the development of clinical practice guidelines for Chinese patent medicine （CPM）. The establishment of the working group is the first important step for developing CPM guidelines. Considering the characteristics of the clinical practice guidelines for CPM， this study suggests that the three key elements of ‘multidisciplinarity’， ‘clinical relevance’ and ‘geographical representativeness’ should be put focus on when forming the working group. The guideline advisory committee， clinical expert group， evidence systematic evaluation group， secretary group and the external review group should be established. All group members should clarify the conflict of interest， and the process and management method of the conflict of interest should be clearly reported.

The identification of clinical questions for clinical practice guidelines of Chinese patent medicine （CPM） is important for subsequent evidence retrieval， evaluation of evidence quality， formation of recommendations. This paper described a methodological proposal for the identification of clinical questions for CPM guidelines to highlight the characteristics of Chinese patent medicine and reflect its effect in specific stage of the disease. Considering four aspects， namely， the drug of Chinese patent medicine （D）， the specific disease stage （S）， comparison （C）， and specific outcome （O）， DSCO framework has been proposed to formulate the clinical questions. Multi-source information through scientific research， policy or standard documents， and clinical data are suggested for collecting clinical questions， and clear selection criteria should be set to finalize the clinical questions to be addressed by the guideline. In addition， the above process needs to be transparently and publicly reported in order to ensure the clarity and completeness of the guidelines.