The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is part of the NHS. It is the independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on treatments and care for people using the NHS in England and Wales. The guidance is intended for healthcare professionals, patients and their carers to help them make decisions about treatment and healthcare. NICE guidance is developed using the expertise of the NHS and wider healthcare community including NHS staff, healthcare professionals, patients and carers, industry and the academic community.

Currently, NICE produces three kinds of guidance:

• Technology appraisals - guidance on the use of new and existing medicines and treatments within the NHS in England and Wales.
• Clinical guidelines - guidance on the appropriate treatment and care of people with specific diseases and conditions within the NHS in England and Wales.
• Interventional procedures - guidance on whether interventional procedures used for diagnosis or treatment are safe enough and work well enough for routine use in England, Wales and Scotland. BCIS has a representative on IPAC.

NICE: Interventional Procedures
Guidance on the Use of Coronary Artery Stents (October 2003)
Coronary Artery Stents: Rapid Systematic Review and Economic Evaluation
Guidance on the Use of Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors in the Treatment of Acute Coronary Syndromes (September 2002)
Clopidogrel in the Treatment of Non-ST Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome (July 2004)