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The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published the process and methods guides for its Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme. This work programme focuses specifically on helping enable new medical technologies, or important modifications to existing ones, to be used more quickly and consistently in the NHS.

The process and methods guides explain how evaluations will work, and will be of particular interest to manufacturers considering notifying their device or diagnostic to the programme. The process is designed so that guidance is developed for the NHS in an open, credible, transparent and timely way allowing appropriate input from relevant stakeholders. NICE consulted on the draft guides during 2010, and received over 500 comments from a range of stakeholders including individuals and organisations within the NHS, the medical technologies industry, academia, patient organisations and the Department of Health. This substantial and valuable input has informed the guides' development. The NICE Board considered the consultation comments and approved the final versions of the guides at its March 2011 meeting.

Dr Carole Longson, Director of the NICE Health Technology Evaluation Centre, said: "Thank you to all those who took part in the consultationon the process and methods guides. These documents will help the Medical Technologies Advisory Committee identify and select innovative medical technologies and route them through the appropriate NICE guidance programme. The process guide describes how NICE selects topics and develops its guidance on medical technologies, and the methods guide describes the principles and methods used to select and assess medical technologies. We hope that these newly published guides will encourage more medical technology manufacturers to notify their products to us, thus potentially enabling new innovations to be used more quickly and consistently in the NHS."

The process and methods guides are published today on the NICE website at www.nice.org.uk/MT .

Notes to Editors

About the Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme

1. The Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme (formerly named the Evaluation Pathway Programme for Medical Technologies) was established by NICE in 2009. The focus of this new area of work is specifically on the evaluation of innovative medical technologies, including devices and diagnostics. The types of products which might be included are medical devices that deliver treatment such as those implanted during surgical procedures, technologies that give greater independence to patients, and diagnostic devices or tests used to detect or monitor medical conditions. The independent Medical Technology Advisory Committee has two core remits: selecting medical technologies for evaluation by NICE guidance programmes and also developing medical technologies guidance itself. The guidance applies to the NHS in England, and is not mandatory.

2. Three pieces of final medical technology guidance have been published so far: SeQuent Please balloon catheter for use in coronary artery surgery; CardioQ-ODM oesophageal Doppler monitor to assess fluid balance during surgery; and the moorLDI2-BI, a laser doppler blood flow imaging system to assess the severity of burns more accurately. All guidance is available at www.nice.org.uk/MT .

About NICE

3. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance and standards on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health

4. NICE produces guidance in three areas of health:

• public health - guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention of ill health for those working in the NHS, local authorities and the wider public and voluntary sector
• health technologies - guidance on the use of new and existing medicines, treatments, medical technologies (including devices and diagnostics) and procedures within the NHS
• clinical practice - guidance on the appropriate treatment and care of people with specific diseases and conditions within the NHS.

5. NICE produces standards for patient care:

• quality standards - these reflect the very best in high quality patient care, to help healthcare practitioners and commissioners of care deliver excellent services
• Quality and Outcomes Framework - NICE develops the clinical and health improvement indicators in the QOF, the Department of Health scheme which rewards GPs for how well they care for patients

6. NICE provides advice and support on putting NICE guidance and standards into practice through its implementation programme, and it collates and accredits high quality health guidance, research and information to help health professionals deliver the best patient care through NHS Evidence.