ABSTRACT
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) provides guidance to the National Health Service on the use of selected new and existing health technologies. Health technologies are any medical interventions, such as drugs, medical devices, diagnostic techniques, surgical procedures and health promotion activities. NICE believes it is important to involve patients and carers in producing all types of NICE guidance. Patients, carers and the organisations that represent their interests can suggest topics that they think NICE should develop guidance on. Suggested topics are first assessed and filtered by committees at NICE called 'consideration panels'. The Department of Health refers topics to NICE at two separate points in the technology appraisals process. All consultee organisations are invited to submit evidence to NICE and this is reviewed by an appraisal committee. Patients, carers and groups that represent them have improved the guidance by making valuable contributions to NICE's technology appraisal topics and decision making.
