NICE guidance in the Scottish context

The UK landscape of guidance for clinical practice and public health has become increasingly complicated in recent times, and it is easy to feel confused as to what is available for what purposes, what applies where, and who does what. Within this overall picture, there is potential for uncertainty as to the applicability, or otherwise, in Scotland of guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in England, including NICE technology appraisals, clinical guidelines, interventional procedures guidance, and public health programme and intervention guidance. This paper is offered as a map to help health professionals and others to find their way through the Scottish landscape, with particular reference to NICE's outputs and the respective roles of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) and NHS Health Scotland (HS).