What is NICE, what can it do for you and what can you do for it?

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent organisation responsible for driving improvement and excellence in the health and social care system. It was established in 1999 to reduce variations in the availability and quality of treatments and care (the so-called ‘postcode lottery’). 

 

NICE aims to improve outcomes for people using the NHS and public health and social care services by:

 

If you want to learn more about what good quality care looks like, or have an interest in shaping national policy, NICE can help you. Here are just some of the ways NICE can support you in your work or studies. 

 

Clinical guidelines set out the appropriate clinical care for patients with a specific disease or condition receiving care. They are based on the best evidence available of what works and what it costs and provide recommendations on how to best identify, refer, diagnose, treat and manage patients.

 

NICE quality standards are concise sets of prioritised statements designed to drive measurable quality improvements in a particular area of health or care.  They are derived from the best available evidence, such as NICE guidance and other evidence sources accredited by NICE. Quality standards can be used in contrasting ways by different stakeholders.

 

Service providers can use NICE guidance and quality standards to ensure, and therefore demonstrate, that they provide high-quality care, based on the best available evidence. Commissioners can use NICE quality standards to promote integration of health and social care and in ensuring the services they commission are of high quality. They can support service users in their choices about who provides care for them, and in knowing what to expect from a good quality care service.

 

The Into practice guide is a web-based guide to help health and social care organisations use NICE guidance and quality standards to achieve high-quality care in local settings. It suggests what organisations can put in place and what staff can do to use NICE guidance and quality standards to improve outcomes and get the best value for money. The guide also includes helpful tips, links to other resources and offers shared learning examples showing how others have used NICE guidance and standards. It is for commissioners, providers, quality improvement specialists, clinical governance or NICE leads, and anyone implementing a specific piece of guidance or planning or scrutinising care services. 

 

NICE evidence searches is a password-free (no registration) web portal linking to high-quality medicine, health and social care information sources. These include: guidelines, care pathways, systematic reviews and medicines information. It is separate from, but complements, bibliographic databases such as BNI, CINAHL, and PubMed/Medline. It is particularly useful whenever you want to find high-quality consolidated sources of evidence relating directly to patient or client care, or when you need a quick answer. It is not, however, the place to search for primary research articles. 

 

Clinical knowledge summaries are a source of clinical knowledge about the common conditions generally managed in primary and first-contact care. 

 

NICE pathways are graphical presentations of NICE guidance. They bring together related guidance, between and within topics, and link with other products such as quality standards and implementation resources. They are essentially a network of NICE information.

 

The British National Formulary (BNF) and British National Formulary for Children (BNFC) are key medicine prescribing sources and are available in digital and print for eligible health and social care professionals. fl

 

Gail Sowden is a consultant physio and NICE fellow. Her fellowship enables her to build her networks and influence, learn about NICE and its work and to foster greater engagement with NICE and the implementation of clinical guidelines.

Getting involved with NICE encourages local engagement with relevant topics, fosters a culture of using evidence- based guidance, and supports individuals’ professional development. There are many things you can do to engage with NICE, so go on, do one of them today!