Making decisions about your care

You can use our guidance and advice to find out what recommendations we have made about your condition or care needs. Our guidance goes beyond NHS care to cover social care and public health.

Find out more about how to access treatment and care recommended by us.

New to NICE?

Our guide on how to use NICE products (PDF) shows you all the different types of guidance, standards, and advice that we produce.

Your care

It's your right to be involved in making choices about your care. To make a decision, you need to know what your options are and what might happen if you don’t want any treatment or care.

Get information on what to do:

  • before you see your health or care professional
  • when you see your health or care professional
  • when involving other people
  • when you cannot give consent.

Shared decision making

Shared decision making is when health professionals and patients work together. It puts you at the centre of decisions about your own treatment and care.

This means that:

  • different choices available to the patient are discussed
  • care or treatment options are explored in full, along with the risks and benefits
  • patients reach a decision with their health and social care professional.

Accessing NHS care and treatment recommended by NICE

Our guide contains advice to help you access treatments and care that we've recommended. It includes advice on what to do:

  • if you are not able to obtain treatments that are suitable for you
  • to access drugs and medicines recommended by our guidance
  • if you think that your care is not following NICE's recommendations
  • to find sources of support.

Information for the public about medicines

Find out about:

  • the licensing of medicines
  • unlicensed medicines and 'off-label' use
  • accessing drugs and medicines recommended by a technology appraisal
  • questions that might be useful to ask about medicines
  • NICE evidence summaries.