More innovative healthcare technologies could soon be adopted by
the NHS under reforms proposed today by NICE.
The changes aim to transform how medical devices, diagnostics and
digital and AI health technologies are evaluated as the NHS moves
from 'analogue to digital', ‘hospital to community', and
‘treatment to prevention'.
In the biggest shake-up of NICE's HealthTech programme to date,
the plans enable more products to be evaluated and remove the
requirement for medical devices to be cost saving for them to be
recommended for use in the NHS.
Instead, independent committees will assess all technologies
based on cost-effectiveness and so will balance the cost of the
technology with the benefits it brings to patients and the
service, which may include savings or efficiencies.
The move is part of a series of proposals to set up NICE's
HealthTech programme for the next decade and beyond as the health
service moves from ‘analogue to digital'. The proposed changes
will improve the productivity of the NHS with the roll out of new
technologies and digital approaches to help more people receive
the care they need in the community.
The changes NICE is expected to adopt will transform patients'
experience of care by embracing technology. Since launching
its HealthTech programme, NICE has recommended innovative
technologies such as hybrid closed loop systems for
managing blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes, digitally enabled therapies for
adults with depression, and a technology which looks for a
genetic variant in babies to
guide antibiotic use and prevent hearing loss.
Mark Chapman, director of HealthTech at
NICE, said: "We're transforming our HealthTech programme
to ensure it meets the needs of the NHS both now and in the
future,
“Our transformation aims to deliver clearer, quicker and more
targeted guidance that fits NHS priorities. We want to identify
and accelerate the adoption of the most effective devices,
interventions, digital solutions and diagnostic tools into the
NHS, where they can transform patient care and outcomes. We've
already cut guidance development time without compromising
quality. This is the next step.
“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.
"We're committed to ensuring NICE's world leading position in
making the very best clinically and cost-effective HealthTech
available to our NHS."
Key changes include:
- Merging three existing programmes into a single HealthTech
programme
- Introducing a lifecycle evaluation approach to consider
technologies for early or routine use in the NHS, and consider
those already in use.
- Making multi-tech assessments of similar technologies with
the same purpose standard practice
NICE is merging the interventional procedures, medical
technologies evaluation and diagnostics assessment programmes to
become one HealthTech programme.
The proposals are set to formalise the way NICE will evaluate
technologies for early NHS use, previously described as early
value assessments. Evaluation methods will flex to reflect what
stage a technology or procedure is at in the lifecycle.
It is expected that multi-tech assessments of products will
become the norm, helping the NHS make informed purchasing
decisions when multiple products with the same purpose are
available. When only one technology is available in the
market though, a single technology assessment will be carried
out.
This is the first update to create a HealthTech manual and
further changes are planned to ensure NICE guidance is relevant
and meets the needs of patients and the NHS.
A consultation has now begun on the proposed changes and comments
can be submitted via nice.org.uk until Thursday 6 March 2025.
ENDS
About the consultation
- The HealthTech manual consultation will run from Friday 7
February to Thursday 6 March 2025.
- The changes will affect the Interventional Procedures
Programme, Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme and
Diagnostics Assessment Programme.
- HealthTech guidance is applicable to England. Ministers in
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can direct their health
services to use it.
- Interventional Procedures guidance is applicable to the whole
of the United Kingdom.
- A copy of the consultation document on the single HealthTech
manual is available to read here: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/GID-PMG10010/consultation/html-content
