The place of the French National Authority for Health, an institution in service of quality of health care

The French National Authority for Health was set up in 2005. It is an independent organization responsible for scientifically assessing drugs, medical devices, and procedures, is based on his assessement their approval by the health care system and the level of reimbursement by the health insurance funds; in collaboration with the health care professionals concerned, integrating these assessments into guidelines for good practice and guidelines for public health; encourage their implementation and more globally improve the quality of patient care in health care institutions and in general medical practice through accreditation of healthcare organizations and certification of physicians; and finally guaranteeing the rigor of the medical information disseminated. This paper aims to better define the main points and conditions for collaboration with learned societies, in particular the French Nephrology Society. (C) 2007 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.