De-implementation: Has the NHS programme to reduce lower-value treatments been successful?

Research shows that some common NHS treatments don’t work as well as previously thought. These treatments are sometimes called ‘lower value’, meaning the benefits don’t justify the risks or costs in some patients.

In 2019, NHS England launched the Evidence-Based Interventions (EBI) programme. This named 17 surgical procedures to stop, or only perform for patients thought to benefit most.

We wanted to understand how well the EBI programme is working.