History of NICE
1999
Creation of NICE
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence became a legal entity in April. Our aim was to create consistent guidelines and end rationing of treatment by postcode across the UK.
First NICE guidance
We published our first piece of guidance: a rapid assessment of flu product zanamivir.
First public board meeting
2000
First technology appraisal
TA1 Guidance on the extraction of wisdom teeth (March).
2001
National Collaborating Centres established
The National Collaborating Centres help develop clinical guidelines by using the expertise of the royal medical colleges, professional bodies and patient/carer organisations.
2002
First clinical guideline
CG1 Schizophrenia (December).
The National Guidelines and Audit Patient Involvement Unit established
It later became our Public Involvement Programme (PIP), which is now our People and Communities Involvement and Engagement (PCIE) programme.
2003
First interventional procedures guidance
IPG1 Uterine artery embolisation for fibroids (July).
2005
The Health Development Agency (HDA) transfers to NICE
The HDA was a special health authority established in 2000 to develop the evidence base to improve health and reduce health inequalities.
It worked in partnership with professionals and practitioners across a range of sectors to translate that evidence into practice.
We changed our name to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
2006
First public health guideline
PH1 Smoking: brief interventions and referrals (March).
First single technology appraisal
We published our first single technology appraisal to speed up the guidance production process.
Find out more about types of processes for developing technology appraisals.
2008
First public meeting
The Interventional Procedures Advisory Committee held its first meeting in public in June.
2009
Quality Outcomes Framework
We became responsible for developing and reviewing indicators for the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF).
2010
First quality standard
QS1 Dementia: support in health and social care (March).
Read more about quality standards.
First medical technology guidance
MTG1 SeQuent Please balloon catheter for in-stent coronary restenosis (December).
2011
Commissioning indicators
We were asked to develop indicators on behalf of the NHS Commissioning Board for the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcome Indicator Set (CCG OIS).
National Prescribing Centre (NPC) joins NICE
The NPC became part of NICE in April. The centre helped healthcare organisations to deliver safe and cost-effective medicines use for patients and the public. It later became the Medicines and Prescribing Centre.
NICE Pathways goes live
In May we launched an online tool providing quick and easy access, topic by topic, to our full range of guidance and tools.
First diagnostics guidance
DG1 The EOS 2D/3D imaging system (October).
2013
NICE becomes a non-departmental public body
In April we changed our status from a special health authority to a non-departmental public body and became the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. We also officially took on the work of bringing evidence-based guidance and standards to the social care sector, as outlined in the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
New Chair appointed
We welcomed a new Chair, Professor David Haslam, who took over from Professor Sir Michael Rawlins following his 14 years in the role.
The NHS Technology Adoption Centre joins NICE
The adoption and implementation team is responsible for identifying ways to overcome potential barriers to the implementation of NICE guidance.
2014
First social care guideline
SC1 Managing medicines in care homes (March).
First medicines practice guideline
MPG1 Developing and updating local formularies (March).
2015
First highly specialised technologies guidance
HST1 Eculizumab for treating atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (January).
2016
First drug approved from old Cancer Drugs Fund
In July we approved bosutinib (Bosulif, Pfizer) which treats some people with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). It means the drug will become available through normal NHS funding channels where as previously it was only available through the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF).
Unified indicator menu launched
We launched the unified NICE indicator menu for general practice and CCGs.
2017
Antimicrobial resistance
We published a guideline to educate the general public about how they can help fight the battle against antimicrobial resistance.
We also started a series of 30 management of common infection guidelines. Find out more on our antimicrobial prescribing guidelines page.
Physical and mental health in the workplace
In March we updated our quality standard promoting physical and mental health in the workplace.
2018
500 technology appraisals
In January, we published our 500th technology appraisal.
Cancer impact report published
We published NICEimpact cancer. A report that considers how our evidence-based guidance might contribute to improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. It’s the first of several impact reports looking at how the health and social care system uses our recommendations to improve outcomes in priority areas.
2021
The NICE 5-year strategy launches
Dynamic, collaborative, excellent - the NICE strategy 2021 to 2026 set out an ambitious vision for our future, building on the solid foundations of the last 22 years.
2024
We celebrated our 25th birthday!
On 1 April 2024, we marked 25 years of helping to get the best care to people fast.