Promoting safe innovation
Dr Hannah Patrick joined the Interventional Procedures Programme at NICE in March 2008 as a consultant clinical adviser, combining 3 days a week at NICE's London office with a clinical role in haematological oncology at Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup.
Dr Patrick said: "The programme assesses the safety and efficacy of interventional procedures, with the aim of protecting patients and helping clinicians, healthcare organisations and the NHS to introduce procedures appropriately."
No interventional procedure is entirely free from risk and the programme gauges the extent of uncertainties and makes recommendations on their implications. The programme also helps patients to understand new procedures and their risks by producing information for them about each procedure and NICE's recommendations.
Last year NICE published guidance on 39 interventional procedures: for some of them there was a good body of evidence; for others there was much less information available.
For example, the guidance on keyhole surgery to remove all or part of the stomach as a treatment for people with stomach cancer recognises that there is now good evidence that this procedure is safe and effective when carried out by well-trained doctors.
For patients, keyhole surgery means less time in hospital, faster recovery and smaller scars.
The guidance on treating advanced age-related macular degeneration using an artificial lens system looked at a highly innovative concept. Dr Patrick explained: "In essence, it involves inserting a tiny telescope into the patient's eye and using this to deflect the image away from the damaged part of the retina to an undamaged part. There is limited evidence for its effectiveness and long-term safety.
As a result we have recommended that doctors make special arrangements with their hospital trusts and ensure that patients understand the doubts about the procedure's efficacy and safety."
This page was last updated: 12 August 2009
