NCPE Recommendations
Queries on the reimbursement process and next steps once a recommendation has been issued should be directed
to the CPU at [email protected] .
Interpreting NCPE Recommendations
The NCPE evaluates new medicines to check their:
- clinical effectiveness (how well they treat a patient’s condition compared with other ways to manage the condition);
- cost effectiveness (value for money); and
- effect on the HSE budget (budget impact).
We send our recommendations to the HSE to help them decide whether or not to provide a medicine.
We carry out two types of assessments:
Rapid Review
This assessment is done on all new medicines to see if a medicine needs a more in-depth evaluation (that is, a
Health Technology Assessment). A Rapid Review takes about four weeks to complete.
Health Technology Assessment (HTA)
This assessment gives us a comprehensive overview of how a new medicine might affect the health service. We will
do a HTA if there is a question about the clinical effectiveness and/or the cost effectiveness of the medicine. We carry
out a HTA on all new medicines with a high cost compared with existing treatments and/or a high impact on the drugs
budget, or if there is uncertainty related to the cost. HTAs can take several months to complete.
We publish the outcomes of Rapid Reviews and Health Technology Assessments on our website (www.ncpe.ie) under
the ‘Pharmacoeconomic Evaluations’ tab.
Further information and explanations of the five possible recommendations following a Rapid Review and the four possible recommendations following a full HTA can be found here.
