It may seem as if the National Institute of Health and Care Clinical Excellence (NICE) has always been part of the UK’s health and social care landscape. But this fascinating book charts the evolution of NICE from its origins 25 years ago, as well as how this development illustrates many of the key themes effecting health care today.

In a period of rapid medical and technological advance, NICE has been both a gatekeeper to ensure that healthcare resources are spent where they are needed most, and a promoter of patient access to the best new technologies. Through a detailed history, the authors show how NICE’s remit grew from medical health care to public health to social care, advancing the use of evidence-based policy making and health economics as it did so. Playing a key role in ethical debates which often made the news, NICE also re-aligned the relationship between patients, politicians and the pharmaceutical industry.

Written by two of the leading scholars in the field, this fascinating history also situates NICE in an international context, where it is often seen as a model to follow. It will be key reading for students and researchers in the fields of health and social care and health policy, as well as professionals and interested general readers.