NICE Pilot Diagnostics Project Points Way Forward For Evaluation Of Diagnostic Technologies

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NICE Pilot Diagnostics Project Points Way Forward For Evaluation Of Diagnostic Technologies

NICE has published a report on its pilot diagnostics project. The project, on the assessment of non-invasive diagnostic tests for the detection of liver fibrosis in patients with suspected alcohol related liver disease, was completed in December 2010. The report highlights the important lessons learnt from the pilot and how these have been used to inform the development of the process and methods that NICE will use to assess the use of diagnostic technologies. The pilot project was designed so that the new NICE diagnostic assessment programme could learn from it in real time, allowing work on "live topics" to start without having to wait for the pilot to finish. An interim methods statement was published in March 2010 to describe the methods that

would be followed in the pilot. Professor Newland, Chair of the independent Diagnostics Assessment Committee, said: "Our starting point for how diagnostic tests and technologies might be evaluated was the methodology used by NICE to assess new drugs and treatments. The pilot gave us the opportunity to explore how the evaluation of diagnostic technologies is different from this. The main differences are the need to map the care pathway, understand the impact of the test on patient outcomes further along the care pathway and the fact that the evidence base for diagnostics is often less comprehensive than that for drugs and other treatments. This learning will inform future decisions by the Diagnostics Assessment Committee." Dr Carole Longson, Director of the NICE Centre for Health Technology Evaluation, said: "As a result of learning from the pilot, we will be paying particular attention to the topic scoping phase, to ensure that

diagnostics evaluations carried out by NICE are useful and feasible. The pilot has also demonstrated the crucial role of Specialist Committee Members in understanding how the use of a diagnostic affects subsequent care. These important learning points will help NICE undertake diagnostics assessments that are robust, relevant and useful to the NHS." A formal independent evaluation of the pilot was carried out by the Healthcare Innovation and Technology Evaluation Centre (HITEC, Derby Hospitals NHS Trust). This is available on the NICE website. A manual outlining the NICE diagnostics assessment programme's methods and processes is expected to be published for public consultation in late spring. Notes About the NICE diagnostics assessment programme 1. The report on the pilot

project on the assessment of non-invasive diagnostic assessment tools for the detection of liver fibrosis in patients with suspected alcohol related liver disease is available on the NICE website. 2. Further information about the NICE diagnostics assessment programme can be found here. 3. Topics to be considered will be routed through the related Medical Technologies Assessment Programme. Source: NICE

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