How can scientific evidence be translated into clinical practice, and how can national clinical practice guidelines contribute to improving the quality of healthcare? These questions were among the key topics of the fourth NIKEZ Conference 2026, held online for the first time on 8 October 2026. The event brought together experts, representatives of healthcare institutions and other stakeholders to highlight the importance of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM), transparent use of data and collaboration across the healthcare system.
The conference was opened by the Czech Minister of Health, Adam Vojtěch, who emphasised the importance of scientific evidence and high-quality data in healthcare decision-making. The programme then explored the development and implementation of clinical practice guidelines by the National Institute for Quality and Excellence in Healthcare (NIKEZ), their role in driving systemic change, and practical experiences from clinical settings.
Data as the Foundation for Improving Healthcare Quality
The opening session focused on the importance of collecting, analysing and, above all, transparently publishing healthcare data. The presentations by Adam Vojtěch, Marian Rybář and Tomáš Hauer shared the view that accessible and comprehensible data are essential for identifying shortcomings and targeting improvements in healthcare.
Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch illustrated this with the use of data on the accessibility of stroke centres and emergency medical services response times. Publishing these data made it possible to identify areas where patients face greater difficulties in accessing the care they need and to use these findings to inform decisions about establishing new stroke centres.
Marian Rybář, Chair of the NIKEZ Executive Board, also highlighted the role of data and scientific evidence in healthcare planning, including oncology, care coordination and the centralisation of highly specialised services. He stressed that decisions on centralisation must be based on demonstrated benefits. In highly specialised oncological surgery, evidence summaries prepared by the NIKEZ Methodological Centre, drawing on international evidence, also played an important role.
NIKEZ Clinical Practice Guidelines: From Scientific Evidence to Practice
The next part of the programme presented the outputs of the NIKEZ Methodological Centre, including evidence summaries, operational recommendations and clinical practice guidelines. Miloslav Klugar emphasised the importance of robust methodology and transparency in guideline development, while Vladimír Černý focused primarily on their practical implications.
The NIKEZ Methodological Centre is closely linked to the work of Cochrane Czech Republic. Both centres have the same personnel, connecting methodological support for the development of national clinical practice guidelines with the international Cochrane network, which focuses on synthesising and evaluating scientific evidence relevant to healthcare. This close collaboration supports the application of evidence-based medicine principles in guideline development and their subsequent implementation in practice.
Martin Komenda then presented the collaboration between NIKEZ and the National Health Information Portal (NZIP). The aim is to make information about clinical practice guidelines accessible to the general public in a clear and understandable format, while promoting health and data literacy.
Tomáš Pavlík subsequently highlighted the potential of national clinical practice guidelines to inform healthcare reimbursement mechanisms. Guidelines can contribute to the standardisation of clinical practice and improvements in both access to and quality of care. However, to ensure that their impact extends beyond the documents themselves, collaboration among professional societies, healthcare providers, payers and other stakeholders is essential.
Collaboration Among Experts as a Prerequisite for Systemic Change
The importance of collaboration in guideline development and implementation was the central theme of the panel discussion entitled Clinical Practice Guidelines: Professional Documents or Tools for Changing the Healthcare System? The discussion focused on the role of NIKEZ guidelines in advancing the professional, organisational and reimbursement priorities of medical societies.
In his opening remarks, Vladimír Černý emphasised that high-quality clinical practice guidelines can contribute not only to better care for individual patients but also to systemic changes that improve clinical outcomes, healthcare quality and cost-effectiveness.
The panel included Vladimír Černý, Miloslav Klugar, Jan Kolář, Jiří Moláček, Vladimír Palička, Marian Rybář and Aleš Tomek. Participants highlighted the need for a coordinated approach involving NIKEZ, professional societies, the Ministry of Health, health insurance companies and other relevant partners.
For guidelines to be effectively implemented in practice, they must reflect the realities of clinical settings, assess costs in relation to expected benefits and be disseminated systematically among healthcare professionals. Integrating scientific evidence with organisational and reimbursement mechanisms can help ensure that guidelines contribute meaningfully to healthcare management and decision-making.
National Clinical Practice Guidelines in Clinical Practice
Experts from various areas of healthcare shared their experiences with developing and implementing national clinical practice guidelines. Martina Koziar Vašáková discussed lung cancer screening and lung health promotion, followed by Hynek Mírka, who addressed incidental findings in lung cancer screening.
Hana Vaňková presented national clinical practice guidelines in the context of the National Plan for the Development of Geriatric Care, while Marek Mechl focused on the national standardisation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols. These presentations demonstrated how clinical practice guidelines can support the harmonisation of professional practice and the systematic development of healthcare services.
The KOMPAS Project: Improving the Quality of Home Care Through Clinical Practice Guidelines
The final thematic session focused on home and community nursing care and international collaboration within the KOMPAS project. Marcela Koudelková and Dagmar Tučková presented the project, which includes the development of two national clinical practice guidelines addressing the organisation of home care.
Lucie Ovsenáková explored home care from the perspectives of patients and informal caregivers. Lucie Alblová followed with a discussion of the needs of nurses providing care in patients' homes and the barriers they face within the current healthcare system.
The international dimension was further explored by Nancy Helou from Switzerland in her presentation, Switzerland–Czechia Cooperation in the KOMPAS Project: Transforming Home Care in Czechia. She outlined how home care is organised in Switzerland and discussed opportunities for Czech–Swiss collaboration in developing home healthcare services.
Connecting Evidence, Data and Decision-Making
The fourth NIKEZ Conference 2026 demonstrated that high-quality healthcare requires not only access to scientific evidence and reliable data but also their systematic use in clinical decision-making and healthcare management. Transparent methodologies, collaboration among professional societies and other stakeholders, and effective implementation of national clinical practice guidelines all play an important role in this process.
Conference materials: