NIH/Consensus Development Program

The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) Consensus Development Program, established in 1977, is the premier health technology assessment and transfer program in American medicine. Under this program, the Office of Medical Applications of Research at NIH organizes major conferences that produce consensus statements and technology assessment statements on controversial issues in medicine important to health care providers, patients, and the general public. Consensus and Technology Assessment Statements are independent reports of the panels in question and are not policy statements of the NIH or the Federal Government. The NIH Consensus Development Program has a web site on the Internet at that provides full text of all NIH Consensus Statements and Technology Assessment Statements, information on upcoming conferences, recent news releases summarizing conference results, a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and answers area, a search engine to help online users locate particular Consensus Statements and Technology Assessment Statements, dynamic linkage to other NIH sites that provide valuable information and services, and more. Inquiries about the NIH Consensus Development Program should be addressed to the Office of Medical Applications of Research at the mailing address above. In addition to being available on the web, full text printed copies of consensus statements and technology assessment statements that are still medically current are also available free of charge from: NIH Consensus Program Information Service, P.O. Box 2577, Kensigton, MD 20891, fax (301) 816-2494, phone (800) 644-6627.