NICE has announced proposals to “shake-up” its health tech programme, to change how medical devices, diagnostics and digital and AI health technologies are evaluated.
Said to enable more products to be evaluated, the proposals suggest a process that involves “multi-tech assessments of products”, with an aim to support purchasing decision making when multiple solutions are for the same purpose and to “remove the requirement for medical devices to be cost saving for them to be recommended”.
Under the proposal, technologies will be evaluated on their cost-effectiveness and their potential benefits for patients and services, whilst three existing NICE programmes will be merged to create a single HealthTech programme: interventional procedures, medical technologies evaluation and diagnostics assessment.
It highlights the introduction of a “lifecycle evaluation approach to consider technologies for early or routine use in the NHS” and “independent committees will assess all technologies based on cost-effectiveness and so will balance the cost of the technology with the benefits it brings”.
Mark Chapman, director of HealthTech at NICE, highlighted the importance of these changes in ensuring the HealthTech programme “meets the needs of the NHS both now and in the future”, adding that this is the “next step” for the programme after delivering cuts in guidance development time. “Our proposed new approach, including a multi-tech cost-effectiveness approach and revised assessment methods, will create opportunities for innovative solutions that previously might not have reached our independent committees for consideration because they weren’t cost saving,” he concluded.
A consultation on the proposed changes is underway, with the potential for interested parties to submit comments until 6 March, 2025. To learn more, please click here.
Tech and innovation from across the NHS
We were joined by a panel of experts for a recent HTN Now webinar, to discuss the role of digital in supporting NHS reform – modernising services, shifting from hospital to community, and supporting the move from reactive to proactive care. Panel members shared their insight and experience from a wide range of digital projects, highlighting what worked well and their learnings; how their organisations are currently tackling key challenges such as capacity and demand, and managing waiting lists; and balancing risk with innovation.
Another HTN webinar on transformation in women’s health also saw us joined by panellists to discuss the role of digital in redesigning and personalising services for women; the barriers to tech in women’s health, and more. Saima Sharif, NHS obstetrician & gynaecologist at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust and digital/AI adopter for women’s health, said: “There are all these amazing innovative ideas and solutions, but there’s a massive disconnect in the NHS, which means I’m not seeing them as a clinician on the ground.”
Elsewhere, new guidance has been published by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, focusing on developing safeguards, regulation and evaluation for UK digital mental health technologies including mental health apps, AI-powered assessments, and virtual reality therapy.
And the HTN Now Awards featured some of the most promising innovations in health and care from across the NHS, highlighting collaborative projects, pilots, and the impactful use of tech and data to make a real difference. Check out all of our winners, here!
