Patient groups fail to declare financial interests during NICE assessments

NICE welcomes this important comment on our approach to managing declarations of interest. It is very important to us that the arrangements we have in place for patient organisations to declare their interests should leave those who use our guidance feeling confident in its independence and objectivity.

We know that the patient organisations working with us may receive funding from life sciences companies. At the moment, we require a declaration of interests from patients and service users if they attend an advisory committee meeting to give evidence in person. Where they work for or act in some official capacity for a stakeholder organisation, we expect them to be aware of and to declare their nominating organisation’s interests, including any funding it receives from life sciences companies. Where they attend in a personal capacity, though they may have been suggested by an organisation, we cannot necessarily expect them to know the detail of the nominating organisation’s interests and so we ask to limit their declaration to their personal affairs.

Our guidance development processes contain a number of safeguards, including external assessment of the evidence submitted to us and public consultation on draft recommendations. We think it unlikely that our recommendations have been compromised by a lack of disclosure by people nominated by patient organisations.

Our declaration of interests policy is based on international best practice and reflects the fact that we take very seriously the need to reduce the risk of bias in our decision-making. This research suggests that we can do more to protect our guidance from this risk and so we will undertake a rapid review of this aspect of our relationship with patient and user organisations with a view to making changes that will have this effect.