Providing intelligence for rational decision‐making in the NHS: the NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination

The NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) was established to help provide clear summaries of research‐based knowledge on the effectiveness and cost‐effectiveness of health care interventions. This paper summarises the ways in which CRD helps produce and disseminate this research intelligence to the NHS and its customers. Systematic reviews on topics prioritised by the NHS are conducted or commissioned. Some are disseminated as Effective Health Care bulletins to a wide range of people in the NHS. Two databases are available on line which provide structured critical abstracts of reviews of research and economic evaluations have been developed. Some of the most important reviews are also disseminated as Effectiveness Matters. CRD also provides research input into a number of projects such as cancer guidance for purchasers, and consumer and professional informed choice leaflets in maternity care, cataracts and glue ear.