Med Tech-related technology assessments from NICE in the second half of August 2017

The following Interventional Procedure Guidance was released by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in second two weeks of August 2017:

• Liposuction for chronic lymphoedema: NICE concluded that current evidence on the safety and efficacy of this procedure is adequate to support the its use provided that standard arrangements are in place for clinical governance, consent and audit. Patient selection should only be done by a multidisciplinary team as part of a lymphoedema service.
• Radiofrequency treatment for haemorrhoids: NICE recommended to use this procedure only with special arrangements for clinical governance, consent and audit or research due to inadequate quantity and quality of evidence on the safety and efficacy.
• Biodegradable spacer insertion to reduce rectal toxicity during radiotherapy for prostate cancer: NICE supports the use of this procedure because current evidence on the safety and efficacy is adequate to recommend this procedure provided that standard arrangements are in place for clinical governance, consent and audit, including criteria for patient selection and conditions of application the procedure.

Interventional Procedure Guidance is developed for most of the novel interventional procedures entering the English market. The program focuses solely on the clinical evidence. Recommendations may vary from ‘for research only’ to ‘for use with standard arrangements for clinical governance, consent and audit’. Recommendations are not binding, although they are followed by providers and commissioners.

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