Evidence and Policy

The main trial found no benefit at 3 months but found patient-relevant benefits at 6 months. Health economic analysis indicated NAT-C had a high probability of being cost-effective at NICE thresholds. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness evidence were important but insufficient by themselves to drive implementation. The article's author holds an economics background from MIT's Sloan School of Management and frames recommendations around science-based decision-making. Evidence was expected to affect practice mainly through policy, NICE guidance, clinical guidelines, incentives, regulatory expectations and commissioned initiatives. Financial incentives were viewed as a clear route to uptake but also risked reducing NAT-C to a superficial tick-box exercise. Science-based decision-making — policy derived from data rather than political positioning — is listed as one of the four primary policy priorities.