Attachment 3
Copy of a letter dated 11 January 2001
from the Chief Executive of National Institute for Clinical Excellence
to The Editor for Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin
ZANAMIVIR: WHAT
HAPPENED?
Thank you for sending me the first circulation
draft of this paper.
The Institute's advice to the NHS in England
and Wales on zanamivir is set out in its recent guidance.
The only comment on your paper I would wish
to make is to draw your attention to the Directions to the Institute
from the Secretary of State for Health, which you might wish to
be aware of in relation to your observation about the possible
introduction of a "need clause" into the Institute's
terms of reference. The Directions indicate that the Institute
should take account of:
— the Secretary of State's and the
National Assembly for Wales' broad clinical priorities (as set
out for instance in National Priorities Guidance and in National
Service Frameworks, or any specific guidance on individual referrals);
— the degree of clinical need of the patients
with the condition under consideration;
— the broad balance of benefits and costs;
— any guidance from the Secretary of State
and the National Assembly for Wales on the resources likely to
be available and on such matters as they may think fit;
— the effective use of available resources;
— the longer-term interests of the NHS
in encouraging innovation of good value to patients.
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