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NICE quality standards are being developed to make it clear to patients, healthcare and social care professionals, commissioners, and service providers what quality care is.

Quality standards for three clinical areas—dementia, stroke, and venous thromboembolism prevention—have already been published and NICE recently announced topics for nine other areas, which will be developed during 2010/11. The areas to be covered are breast cancer, type 1 and 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, end-of-life care, glaucoma, depression, chronic heart failure, alcohol dependence, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

At last year’s NICE conference, a presentation about the quality standards stimulated a lively discussion among the audience with questions raised about their purpose. The idea behind these standards is a simple one: they are a set of specific, concise statements that are based on best available evidence and act as markers of high-quality, cost-effective patient care across a pathway or clinical area. They are not mandatory and are not being developed to replace NICE guidance; rather they provide a complementary framework and overview on how to achieve quality care.

It is envisaged that the quality standards will be used in a variety of ways enabling:

• patients to identify the quality of care that they can expect from their healthcare provider
• healthcare professionals to make evidence-based decisions and develop audits
• commissioners to ensure that services provide high-quality, cost-effective care
• NHS Trusts to examine and assess the standards of care provided.

The quality standards will be covered throughout 2011 to help Guidelines in Practice readers and their patients get the most from these high-quality markers.

Julia Morris, Editor
julia.morris@mgp.ltd.uk