Making NICE nicer
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
UK's National Institute of Clinical Excellence should consider directing the National Health Service to evaluate medical device "effectiveness versus efficacy" in cases where randomized controlled trial data are absent, according to the Association of British Health-Care Industries. "Adherence to the hierarchy of evidence necessarily biases the work of NICE against non-pharmaceutical products," ABHI asserts, noting that device makers are "unlikely to have such large-scale studies," relying instead on "naturalistic study designs such as registries." In January testimony responding to the House of Commons Health Committee's inquiry of NICE, the device trade group urged a more transparent topic selection process and warned of technologies becoming "sidelined" if they are not chosen for NICE appraisal...