Background
A common disease or condition will typically have several pieces of NICE guidance about it, with each piece supported by a health economic model that weighs up the costs and benefits of alternative options. Usually, a model is built by a different modelling team for each piece of guidance. The NICE reference case has supported consistent methods across assessments, but some inconsistencies persist. Inconsistencies in modelling can lead to inconsistencies between recommendations, which can negatively impact the care that people receive (see the appendix).
This position statement sets out NICE's view on the use of disease-specific reference models and disease-specific reference case extensions in the economic evaluation of interventions considered by its evaluation programmes. It aims to:
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indicate NICE's plans for developing and implementing disease-specific reference models and case extensions in high-priority clinical areas
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outline what NICE expects from companies, external assessment groups (EAGs), guideline developers and committee members when it has issued a reference case extension
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describe how NICE would identify disease areas where a reference case extension can bring value to NICE and the wider system.