NICE process and methods
2 Good practice guidance
2.1 Aims
The aim of good practice guidance is to provide advice and guides to good practice for those involved in handling, prescribing, governance, safety, commissioning and decision-making about medicines. The content of the good practice guidance is developed according to the best available evidence. The outputs aim to be practically relevant, with an emphasis on the implications for UK practice.
Good practice guidance allows NICE to respond to developments in the evidence relating to medicines and prescribing, supporting the implementation of NICE guidance by providing best practice information about the systems, processes and governance arrangements required about medicines.
2.2 Key audiences
Good practice guidance is written for a wide range of audiences including:
-
patient-facing practitioners
-
local medicines optimisation services
-
NHS commissioners.
2.3 Key activities
The key activities for the production of good practice guidance are:
-
identifying and selecting the most relevant evidence from a range of evidence sources
-
summarising the evidence
-
critically reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence
-
synthesising evidence in the context of good practice
-
using evidence to formulate recommendations and validate them.