The National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE) has published a prior information notice highlighting plans to develop an external assessment group framework, by commissioning groups capable of providing a range of health technology assessment services to support its technology evaluation programmes.
The framework is split into three lots, the first focusing on clinical and economic evidence assessment and including updating information and evidence on technologies in support of guidance reviews; preparing evidence summaries for new tech; market intelligence analysis; and supporting the identification, topic selection and scoping of health tech products.
The second lot centres around technical and decision support, with external assessment groups to provide advice to NICE on all guideline and technology types within remit; provide a technical rapid response service and quality insurance input for guidance products; and provide a research governance and ethics support function.
The last lot is for evidence generation to support access. Here, groups will be expected to generate evidence using sources such as existing registers or databases and pilot studies; collect data for active surveillance; and support data linkage and complex modelling.
The estimated total value for the opportunity is £2 million.
Interested suppliers will be invited to attend a virtual early engagement day on 1 October, with future opportunities for suppliers to have individual meetings with NICE the following week. In order to register interest for the engagement day, suppliers are encouraged to email NICE’s procurement manager Irene Walker at irene.walker@nice.org.uk by 10am on 30 September. Full information can be found here.
Procurements in the spotlight
In other recent news around awarded contracts and ongoing opportunities, last week HTN reported on plans from North London Mental Health Partnership procure a digital local risk management and incident reporting system, with interested suppliers requested to complete a questionnaire by Wednesday this week (18 September).
We highlighted an opportunity from NHS England for suppliers to create an online learning resource for allied health professionals to develop their digital skills through NHSE’s Digital Academy.
Another framework opportunity comes from Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, with plans to develop a framework for the provision of online and digital mental health assessments, treatments and therapies across the region, with an estimated value of up to £35 million.
Last week we also noted now NHS England awarded a contract to support the transformational activities of the digital urgent and emergency team, worth an estimated £37,415,000.
Other procurement news includes East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust awarding a 10-year contract for a community electronic patient record system with an estimated value of £3,060,870 to The Phoenix Partnership (TPP).
Also from NICE
In June, we noted now NHSE and NICE set out a proposed new route for MedTech developers to access NHS funding, revolving around the development of “an integrated, rules-based medical technology pathway” to help “create the right conditions for innovators to thrive, with the health service continuing to act as powerful driver of innovation.”
And earlier in the year, we reported that NICE published an early guidance assessment providing recommendations on health technologies to help manage symptoms of psychosis and prevent relapse in adults and young people.
