NICE chief executive Dr Sam Roberts spoke at the opening plenary of HTAi in Adelaide today. The theme of the session was "Fast-Tracking Clinical Innovation: The Balance of Speed and Rigour".
Outlining the changes underway at NICE to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving health technology sector and patient expectations Dr Roberts said:
“The health and care system is changing fast. NICE is changing too, to make sure our processes keep pace, and our recommendations remain trusted for their rigour and impartiality.
“We are often under pressure from patient groups, pharma, from within the health and political systems, as I am sure all HTAs experience, not just to make the right decision but to reach a decision faster. But the core DNA of NICE is independence, transparency, and rigour. That will never change. We listen but our recommendations always come from the evidence.
“In 2022-23 we:
- appraised 70% more medicines in 2022-23 than in 2019-20;
- evaluated medicines on average 17% faster, meaning thousands of patients gained access to new treatments sooner; and
- recommended 20 new digital technologies.
“Those achievements were possible because we worked closely with partners and stakeholders to offer flexible solutions to issues of data and value. We created a real-world evidence framework to address the gaps in data and adopted a proportionate approach to our appraisals.
“The pace of innovation is breath-taking. New technologies need new approaches in data collection and evaluation if we want to be able to get the best care to patients fast.
“NICE is rising to that challenge and our transformation is focusing on relevance, timeliness, useability and demonstrable impact. I thank both our partners and stakeholders for their continued support on this work.”
