Updating BestTreatments

BestTreatments aims to provide detailed up-to-date information about the conditions and treatments described.

We usually look at the research for each condition that we cover at least once every 12 months. And we will try to do this more often if we become aware that the research has changed a lot.

Some of the information on BestTreatments is based on Clinical Evidence, which is updated at least once a year. Each update may include:

• New research evidence about treatments already included on BestTreatments that changes what we know about how well they work
• Treatments that had not been included before
• New conditions. These are chosen based on how common they are, and how much the research evidence is needed. (For example, research shows that drugs called beta-blockers help people with heart failure but that many people don't get them, so it's important to tell people about the research.)

BestTreatments uses high-quality sources of information to give background information about common chronic conditions. This information answers the questions that people have about these conditions, such as what causes it and what will happen to them if they have it.

To make sure we don't miss any important new research we look at the top medical journals every week. And we check the websites of the Committee for the Safety of Medicines and the Department of Health. We check whether these organisations have recently allowed any drugs to be used by doctors, or banned the use of others. We also look at the US Food and Drug Administration's website to check whether it has changed the use of any drugs.