29 February 2012
NICE to Produce 10 New Quality Standards
NICE will develop a range of new quality standards on topics such as autism, caesarean section, rheumatoid arthritis and self harm, after the Department of Health referred its latest topics.
Topics are selected by the Department of Health and put forward to NICE on the basis of a number of factors, including the burden of disease, the impact on resources, and whether there is inappropriate variation in practice across the country.
In this latest round of topic referrals, NICE will develop 10 quality standards covering:
- Acute upper GI bleeding
- Autism (adults)
- Caesarean section
- Fertility
- Hypertension in pregnancy
- Lower urinary tract symptoms
- Multiple pregnancy
- Pain and bleeding in early pregnancy
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Self harm
NICE quality standards are a set of specific, concise statements that act as markers of high-quality, clinically and cost-effective patient care. They aim to help healthcare practitioners and commissioners of care deliver excellence in services. To date, NICE has published 15 quality standards.
The NHS Commissioning Board will use NICE quality standards to develop a set of national outcomes, which will then be translated into local indicators used to hold GP commissioning consortia to account.
As well as quality standards, NICE will produce five new clinical guidelines on:
- Diagnosis and management of acute heart failure
- Diagnosis and management of bladder cancer
- Investigation and management of gastro-oesophageal reflux in children
- Diagnosis and management of drug allergy
- Diagnosis and management of pneumonia (including community acquired pneumonia)
Additionally, seven new technology appraisals have been referred to NICE including the use of drugs to treat wet aged-related macular degeneration, advanced renal cell carcinoma and type 2 diabetes.
The Department of Health has also recommended that NICE develops public health guidance to help tackle the growing problem of tooth decay.
This will consist of guidance for dentists on effective approaches to promoting positive oral health behaviour, and guidance for local authorities on needs assessment and commissioning of community dental health programmes to promote the oral health of their communities.
Carers working in health and social residential care settings will also benefit from guidance on effective approaches to promoting oral health, preventing dental health problems and ensuring access to dental treatment when required.