Medtech “Routemap” resource created to assist easier navigation to NHS Access
The AHSN Network and the Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI) have launched a report of the MedTech landscape, aimed at accelerating the entry, adoption and spread of innovations for the benefit of patients and commercial success.
The new resource will enable innovators to effectively navigate the often confusing innovation pathway to access the NHS, using the network’s understanding of the NHS ecosystem to outline how technologies need to be incorporated into a much wider service redesign in order to demonstrate impact and value.
The content includes checklists and practical steps for each aspect of the pathway, including creation, development, regulation, evaluation, market access, commissioning and adoption.
The NHS spends nearly £6 billion a year on MedTech, which includes medical devices, equipment and digital tools. The area is a high growth sector for the UK, with jobs up 17% in the last ten years in contrast to other sectors such as biopharma, meaning that MedTech jobs now account for 40% of life sciences employment in the UK.
Piers Ricketts, vice chair of the AHSN Network and chief executive officer of the Eastern Academic Health Science Network, commented: “The health and science infrastructure in the UK is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the opportunities for economic growth and improved patient outcomes created by MedTech.
However, there is a risk of companies getting lost as they navigate the innovation maze. Within this report we have set out how, as a network, we can help developers navigate through a MedTech innovation pathway to support patients, clinicians and UK plc.”
Source: Pharmatimes