National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on the management of infertility

In 2001, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence commissioned the National Collaborating Centre for Women and Children's Health to produce clinical guidelines for clinically effective, cost-effective and appropriate infertility treatment. These guidelines were to build on the existing Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' guidelines on the management of infertility, incorporating any new published scientific evidence available, in order to produce a seamless guide to the management of the infertile couple. In addition, the guideline needed to address the clinical criteria that had to be met to qualify for National Health Service (NHS) treatment, as well as the cost implications of implementing the guideline for the NHS. Three versions of the guideline were published in March 2004. This article describes the process of developing the guideline, the major recommendations included in the report and their implications for the health service.