NICE News January 2016

New guidance and standards Updated tuberculosis guidelines will help target most vulnerable Updated tuberculosis (TB) guidelines call for greater education and prevention to help target people from socially deprived backgrounds who are most vulnerable to contracting the infection. The guidelines also raise the upper age limit for the treatment and diagnosis of latent TB from 35 to 65 years and under.

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New quality standard on obesity prevention NICE has published a quality standard on obesity in adults. The quality standard contains 8 statements which cover ways of preventing adults becoming overweight or obese. It also covers the provision of lifestyle weight management programmes for adults who are overweight or obese.

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Diabetes in pregnancy quality standard launched NICE's new quality standard on diabetes in pregnancy covers managing diabetes and its complications in women who are planning a pregnancy and women who are already pregnant. It also covers areas in which additional or different care should be offered to women with diabetes and their newborn babies.

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News New recommended drinking guidelines welcomed by NICE NICE has welcomed proposed new guidelines on alcohol which aim to limit the health risks that result from drinking. The proposed guidelines, published by the Department of Health and out for consultation, make 3 main recommendations on safe levels of alcohol consumption.

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Call for entries for 2016 NICE Shared Learning Awards NICE is calling for organisations that have used its guidance or advice products to enter its 2016 Shared Learning Awards. Now entering its ninth year, the awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of organisations that have put NICE products into practice.

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NICE appoints new Non Executive Director NICE has appointed Dr Rosie Benneyworth, a GP and former commissioner, as a new Non-Executive Director (NED) to its Board. As a NED Dr Benneyworth, will assist NICE in ensuring the organisation is fulfilling its role in helping the health and social care system provide the highest quality care.

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Have your say Comment on our draft sepsis guidance Our draft guidance on sepsis is currently open for consultation. The guidance aims to help improve recognition of the condition so that treatment can be provided earlier. Organisations can register as a stakeholder and have until Monday 22 February 2016 to submit their comments.

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Get involved  GP practices - help us develop our asthma guideline NICE is looking for single GP practices or groups of practices to help with the development of its guideline on asthma diagnosis and monitoring. We are running a project to measure the impact and feasibility of carrying out two of the diagnostic tests which are recommended in the draft guideline. Practices will receive support and assistance from NICE for the duration of the project.

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Take a short survey on our savings and productivity collection We are updating and improving our savings and productivity collection. The collection includes our: 'do not do' recommendations cost saving guidance case studies key therapeutic topics return on investment tools If you have used any of these resources please complete a short survey so that we can make sure the resources fully meet your needs.

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Pharmacists – help NICE evaluate health and medical apps NICE is developing a framework for evaluating health and medical apps. With the support of Public Health England and Imperial College London, it is hoped the framework will enable citizens, healthcare professionals, and healthcare organisations to identify higher quality apps and to use these with greater confidence. If you are a fully qualified pharmacist currently practicing in the United Kingdom and working in either the community or primary care setting, please complete a short survey.

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Into Practice  Take a look at examples of organisations putting NICE guidance into practice Have a look at examples of organisations of putting NICE guidance into practice. A number of Local Safeguarding Children Boards collaborated to make their messages about sudden infant death syndrome more consistent with NICE guidance. University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust used the NICE quality standard on sarcoma to develop referral, diagnostic and treatment pathways of the 17 million residents in its area. Public Health England ran a project based in London to improve TB prevention and control.  Among the project’s aims was to support NHS screening in line with NICE Guidance.

Public Health Matters - preventing and reducing harm from alcohol Public Health England has launched its latest edition of Public Health Matters. The resource aims to prevent and reduce the harms caused by alcohol. It supports the commissioning and delivery of evidence based treatment interventions to address harmful drinking and alcohol dependence in adults. The resource links to a number of tools including NICE guidance that can help tackle harmful drinking and alcohol dependence.

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New quality standard service improvement template NICE has developed a new template that allows providers to assess how their services compare to NICE quality standards. The template is an interactive Excel spreadsheet, which allows users to track progress over time, and to create an audit dependent on their own specific needs and requirements. The template is currently available on the tools and resources tab, for quality standards 1-102.

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Online learning tool for type 1 diabetes NICE has launched a new online learning tool on type 1 diabetes. The interactive tool will help healthcare professionals understand how the NICE guideline can be applied to support adults with type 1 diabetes to self-manage their regimen more effectively.

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