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Decisions about the use of therapeutic interventions must be based on evidence.  There is, though, no real consensus on the nature of the evidence that should underpin decision making; nor about how the evidential base should be interpreted.  This lecture will explore the nature of evidence and its application to the treatment of patients.

Sir Michael Rawlins was the Ruth and Lionel Jacobson Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, at Newcastle University, from 1973 to 2006.  He is now an Emeritus Professor of the University.  He has been chairman of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), since its formation in 1999.  Sir Michael has seen the Institute grow from an organisation with no staff, premises, or bank account and a nominal budget of £8.5 million a year, to a body now employing over 270 people, with offices in London and Manchester, and an annual budget of £35 million which is set to more than double over the next few years.