NICE
- The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) was established as a Special Health Authority in April 1999.
- As one of the key elements of the NHS in England and Wales, NICE aims, as its principal role, to provide patients and the healthcare industry with authoritative, robust and reliable guidance on best-practice procedures in healthcare.
- Appraisal of new and existing pharmaceutical interventions and medical technologies is a key function of NICE, with emphasis on the demonstration of the value that these products and devices can bring to the NHS based upon proven clinical and cost-effectiveness.
- NICE is also involved in the development and implementation of evidence-based guidelines for appropriate clinical practice, and in the production of tools that can be used for clinical audit within the NHS.
- Introduced as one of several interlinked initiatives aimed at promoting a strategy of high-quality patient care across the health service,1 NICE marks an explicit move towards the practice of evidence-based medicine in England and Wales, offering positive guidance for products or technologies with proven clinical and cost-effectiveness.
Bandolier has available a longer essay on NICE - 
NICE?
The NICE internet site is a worth a visit National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE)
Bandolier has been a supporter of the concept of a National Institute of Clinical Excellence. It has been concerned since the outset at the inadequate resources available for NICE to fulfill the resounding optimism of its title.