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    NICE quality standards: process guide

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    4 Prioritising areas for quality improvement

    Areas prioritised for quality statements should:

    • be areas of care with evidence or committee consensus that there is variation in the delivery of care (in particular aspects of care or services that are not widely provided or not considered to be standard practice, but that are feasible to provide)

    • focus on key requirements for high-quality care or service provision that are expected to contribute to improving the experience of care or services as well as their safety and effectiveness

    • be measurable.

    Resource impact and the potential to advance equality will also be considered.

    Quality statements can be categorised as 'developmental' if they also:

    • represent an emergent area of cutting-edge service delivery or technology currently being done by a minority of providers and indicating outstanding performance

    • need specific, significant changes to be put in place, such as redesign of services or new equipment

    • have the potential to be widely adopted over time to drive improvement in outcomes.

    The QSAC may use a 'placeholder' statement to indicate that an area was agreed to be a priority for quality improvement but could not be included as a quality statement because no evidence source was available. A placeholder statement indicates the need for an evidence source to be developed.