Funds and assessment needed for digital health start-ups

NHS app assessments should be extended to all digital health products, a review into accelerating innovation has argued.

The Accelerated Access Review, released on Monday, recommends a shake-up of how innovative health and social care products are picked up and of how the sector interacts with industry.

“Throughout the review, we have heard extensively from stakeholders how our health system currently struggles to prioritise even the best new products,” the review says.

The government set-up the review, independently chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor, in November 2014 to find ways of speeding up NHS access innovation in digital technology, innovative drugs, devices, and diagnostics.

Commenting specifically on digital technology, the review recommends a “route for digital products should build on the Paperless 2020 simplified app assessment process”.

The latest health app assessment process under development is based on a four-stage endorsement model. The government is expecting to use the model as the basis of an app library by March next year.

In addition, NHS Digital and NHS England should work together to develop a generic framework for app prescriptions, the review concluded.

The report also urges greater collaboration between NHS organisations, suppliers and patients during the development of products.

“The historical model where innovators simply throw new products at health care systems and allow them to layer these onto existing pathways is no longer viable,” it says.

The report suggests setting up “streamlined” pathways for fast-tracking innovations, which would make it easier for suppliers to get paid and for technology to scale.

However, it acknowledges that improving the uptake of innovation will require additional funding.

For digital products, a competitive “catalyst fund” should be set-up to provide match funding for “promising small companies that are developing the digital technologies that the NHS and patients need and help bring their products to market”, the report suggests.

But it also argues “headroom” could be found by a “more active de-listing” of some redundant products, including digital technology.

The AHSN Network was also involved in developing the review.

Chairwoman Dr Liz Mear said the document was fundamental in “joining up all the great work that’s happening in health and care to ensure that patients across the country have faster access to the latest treatments and technologies.” 

Naureen Khan, director of public services at techUK, said the recommendations that called for improved access to data to assess new innovations were particularly welcome.

“Healthcare analytics has the potential to reduce costs of treatment, predict outbreaks of epidemics, avoid preventable diseases and improve the quality of life in general.”

Other recommendations in the review include:

* Creating a new commercial unit with NHS England to identify and promote innovative products.

* Designating some products as “transformative”, including digital products. This label would grant access to streamline pathways for faster uptake within the NHS.

* Fewer and more consistent paths into the NHS for innovative products tiered at a national, regional, and local level.