Activity: Membership types › Membership of committee
Description
The Scottish Medicines Consortium is a committee of clinicians, pharmacists, NHS board representatives, the pharmaceutical industry and the public. Members of the committee consider a broad range of evidence in order to decide which medicines should be accepted for use by NHSScotland. Most of the clinicians have a direct role in patient care, while our three volunteer public partners ensure the views of the Scottish public are taken into account during decision making. This wide mixture of backgrounds ensures decisions are made from a broad perspective. The committee meets once a month. The New Drugs Committee (NDC) is composed of clinicians, pharmacists and pharmaceutical industry representatives. It meets monthly to assess the clinical and economic evidence presented by companies for each new medicine and this evidence is supplemented by testimonies from our network of clinical experts across NHSScotland.
Following this technical assessment to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the case presented, NDC offers preliminary advice to the company, allowing them to provide feedback and address uncertainties before the medicine is considered by SMC. Once the medicine reaches SMC, additional evidence from patient groups and where appropriate, the Patient and Clinician Engagement (PACE) process, is also considered. Dr Nixon has been a member of the New Drug's Committee 2020 -2021