In pursuit of quality: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence

In the UK, as elsewhere in the world, there is abundant evidence of unaccep table inequalities and inefficiencies in health care. These failures are ma nifest in various ways including inappropriate variations in the uptake and use of health technologies of proven value, the too frequent failure to pr ovide patients with optimum care for the treatment of common diseases, and the too ready adoption of health technologies with no established clinical benefits. Healthcare systems worldwide are therefore struggling to find way s to ensure that their health professionals are able to provide patients wi th the highest possible (and affordable) standards of clinical care. The Br itish government has committed itself to a programme of enhancing the quali ty of care given to National Health Service (NHS) patients. The new Nationa l Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has been charge with providing N HS staff with clear and robust advice that will help them meet their own, a nd their patients', aspirations. The Institute's guidance will cover indivi dual technologies as well as the management of a wide range of conditions. NICE will also advise on appropriate methods of clinical audit in those are as where it has provided guidance.