NICE Guide to the Methods of Technology Appraisal

Excerpt

With rising demands on healthcare expenditure, the UK NHS is increasingly looking to consider value when deciding which medicines to use. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the key body in England responsible for the appraisal of medical interventions on behalf of the NHS and its patients. Thus, when considering patients’ access to new medicines, the principles and application of NICE’s Guide to the Methods of Technology Appraisal[1] remain highly influential. One of the challenges and key considerations in updating this guide was producing guidance that balanced quality and robustness with both the need of the NHS for guidance as early as possible and the need of patients for access to new technologies. Ensuring that the recommended methods were appropriate in terms of reflecting the value of new medicines to patients was also important to ensure that the NHS obtains value for money while meeting the clinical needs of patients and that the industry receives a reasonable return on its investment. …