What we do

NICE is here to help those working in the NHS, local authorities and the wider community deliver high-quality healthcare.

Guiding healthcare

We develop evidence-based guidelines on the most effective ways to diagnose, treat and prevent disease and ill health.

Patient-friendly versions of our guidelines can help educate and empower patients, carers and the public to take an active role in managing their conditions.

Setting standards for high-quality care

We are developing a library of 150 quality standards that will set out a vision of what high-quality care should look like on the NHS.

These standards, broken down by a specific disease, condition or clinical area, will indicate when a treatment or procedure is considered highly effective, cost effective and safe, as well as being viewed as a positive experience by patients.

In the future, we will develop quality standards for social care as part of our expanding remit.

Recommendations on drugs

NICE's technology appraisals programme is designed to ensure that people across England and Wales have equal access to new and existing medicines that are deemed clinically and cost effective, reducing the risk of a postcode lottery of care.

Public health

Our public health guidance is aimed at preventing ill health and encouraging people to live a healthy and active lifestyle. We have made recommendations on wide range of topics, including many of the big issues in today's society such as smoking, obesity and excessive alcohol consumption.

Diagnostics and medical technologies

Hospital doctors and specialists are supported by NICE through our diagnostics and medical technologies programmes. These are designed to evaluate medical diagnostics and open up access to new or innovative medical technologies and devices on the NHS.

Interventional procedures

Our interventional procedures guidance evaluates the safety and efficacy of procedures used for diagnosis or treatment, for example making a cut or hole to gain access to the inside of a patient's body.

Support tools

We provide support tools for the majority of our guidance to help put our recommendations into practice, including tips on monitoring uptake and calculating the potential cost savings that can be generated from following our guidance.

NHS Evidence

We manage NHS Evidence, a service that provides access to authoritative clinical and non-clinical evidence and examples of best practice through a quick and easy online search engine. It helps people from across the NHS, public health and social care sectors to make better decisions as a result.

Helping GPs provide high-quality care

NICE oversees the development of indicators for the quality and outcomes framework (QOF), a voluntary incentive scheme that rewards GP practices across the UK for providing high-quality care to their patients.

Helping commissioners of health services

Recent health reforms have outlined a role for NICE to work alongside the NHS Commissioning Board, and professional and patient groups, to develop a commissioning outcomes framework (COF). This will measure the health outcomes and quality of care achieved by clinical commissioning groups.

Fellows and Scholars

Our Fellows and Scholars programme aims to foster a network of health and social care professionals committed to improving the quality of patient care within their local health and professional communities, as well as supporting the core values that underpin NICE's work.

NICE International

NICE International is helping to raise standards of healthcare around the world by proving advice and support to encourage the use of clinically and cost effective treatments.

NICE International - which operates on a strict not-for-profit, fee-for-service basis - also carries out important research activities such as generating case-studies, preparing tools to help data analysis, and encouraging shared learning through international meetings.