London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The Lancet has teamed up with academics from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and University College London to launch an innovative source of online evidence on health policy.

The journal's UK Policy Matters microsite aims to summarise current UK health policy and allow posting and reading of evidence summaries from the front line, to be provided by both health professionals and members of the public.

The idea was inspired by the lack of evidence surrounding proposed health reforms, which will give general practitioners (GPs) control over 80% of the NHS budget.

In a Comment coinciding with the launch of the new website, Katie Cole and Martin McKee (LSHTM) Robert W Aldridge and Louise Hurst (UCL), together with Lancet Editor Dr Richard Horton, say: "Across the board, where the health impacts of all types of policy proposals and decisions are discussed in the public arena, debates have often relied on opinion and ideology rather than evidence. In cases where evidence has been cited, it has been misrepresented to justify change. It is vital, therefore, that evidence is collected on the impact of wider policy changes on health in a timely and transparent manner."

A key aim of the new website is to allow real-time analysis of the proposed UK health reforms as they take place on the ground. Policy summaries are included on the site, along with a wide range of other topics, including LSHTM's Samantha Fox providing a summary of the evidence for alcohol minimum pricing showing that the government's proposed policy is unlikely to have any significant health benefits.

The authors conclude: "For this project to be successful it will require information on the impacts of policies on health. This is our call to action. We call for submissions from a wide variety of sources; health professionals, patients, private and, third sector organisations. We need our call to be echoed and spread through existing networks to maximise the range of contributors...It is our hope that Lancet UK Policy Matters will make a valuable contribution to the debate surrounding the government's current 'listening exercise' on NHS modernisation, and facilitate better evidence for better health policy in the future."

Martin McKee, who is Professor of European Public Health at LSHTM, adds: "This will be an invaluable resource for all who want to hold politicians to account."