NICE process and methods
7 Conduct of an appeal
7.1 Will there be a hearing?
The lead non-executive director for appeals' decision on holding an oral or written appeal will take account of the appellant(s) views in the original appeal submission. A written process is more likely to be suitable when there are only a small number of appeal points and appellants.
7.2 Dealing with conflicts of interest
None of the members of the appeal panel will have had any previous involvement in the technology appraisal or highly specialised technologies evaluation being appealed. If an appellant believes that a member of the appeal panel has an interest that may bias them for or against the submissions of any appellant, they should inform the appeal panel chair within 10 working days of receiving the letter listing the relevant appeal panel members. In these circumstances, NICE may decide to change the membership of the panel if it considers this necessary in line with NICE's policy on declaring and managing interests.