National Health Service foundation trusts and the new clinical commission groups are now required to post online a list of all of the National Institute for Clinical Effectiveness (NICE)–recommended drugs included in their formularies. Trusts and clinical commission groups must provide funding for all drugs that are approved by NICE, assuming a physician deems the treatment to be clinically appropriate for a patient. The new requirement for transparency will require a rationale for why any NICE-recommended treatments are not on a practice's formulary. The NHS will then publish an "innovation scorecard" that will allow patients and the public to see which trusts and clinical commission groups are adopting the latest NICE-approved drugs and treatments.
Sources:
- http://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e5465?etoc (subscription required)
- http://mediacentre.dh.gov.uk/2012/08/28/patients-get-latest-drugs-treatments-more-quickly/
- http://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e5819 (subscription required)
