Rawlins: from NICE to new key body?
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Professor Sir Michael Rawlins, who until last month chaired the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for 13 years (www.clinica.co.uk, 2 April 2013), is rumored to have been tapped to head one of the NHS’s incipient Academic Health Science Networks (AHSN), according to a Clinica source. A total of 15 AHSNs are planned for England – these networks will act as forums for NHS academia, industry and other stakeholders to collaborate on best practice and getting innovation into the health system (www.clinica.co.uk, 9 May 2013). Having someone with Prof Rawlins’ long background in HTA on board to head an AHSN would significantly raise the profile of these organizations and underline the key role that they are expected to play in the innovation-pushing machinery of the new NHS (www.clinica.co.uk, 18 March 2013).