Written question asked by Alan Johnson (Labour) on Monday, 16 January 2017, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 18 January 2017. It was answered by Philip Dunne (Conservative) on Tuesday, 24 January 2017 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Medical Treatments: Cost Effectiveness

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons manufacturers have been given 72 hours to comment on the draft assessment results of their products as part of the NHS Clinical Evaluation Team's process to review NHS products; and whether this is considered best practice.

Answer: The Clinical Evaluation Team considered that in order for the team to be acting reasonably it should give suppliers the opportunity to correct factual inaccuracies and errors about their products before the team published their reports. The Clinical Evaluation Team considered that a minimum period of 72 hours ahead of publication would be a reasonable period for suppliers to alert the team to any such factual and material errors or mistakes that may have been made against those reviews. This minimum period is a starting point for suppliers and the team may give suppliers more time if in the circumstances it is reasonable to do so.

Secondary information