New NHS England MedTech
Funding Mandate Proposal
– to get innovative
medical devices, diagnostics and
digital products to patients faster

The MedTech Funding Mandate is a proposal to support getting innovative medical devices, diagnostics and digital products to patients faster.

If implemented, NHS England and NHS Improvement will review NICE guidance on medical technologies each year to identify medical devices, diagnostics and digital products that have been thoroughly assessed and recommended by NICE as being effective and capable of saving money within the first year. We will highlight these in annual guidance, and we will expect hospitals and commissioning organisations to comply with this guidance where appropriate. We will also provide additional support by providing examples of how NHS organisations have implemented the innovations and by removing other barriers to their uptake such as duplicative procurement processes.

As we will only be recommending innovations that are both effective and cost saving, we anticipate that this policy will both improve patient care and save the NHS money.

The introduction of a MedTech1 Funding Mandate Policy is an NHS Long Term Plan commitment to accelerate the uptake of selected NICE-approved cost-saving devices, diagnostic and digital innovations in the NHS.

Currently providers of NHS commissioned services ("providers") and NHS commissioners may not be aware of new devices, diagnostics and digital innovations that improve patient care and service efficiency. In addition, those that are aware of these innovations, may find they are not included on common procurement framework s or do not have sustainable reimbursement mechanisms in place. As a result, patients’ access to these innovations may be delayed and providers and NHS commissioners may not capture potential service efficiencies.

The MedTech Funding Mandate Policy aims to address these issues through providing guidance for NHS commissioners and providers each year on which NICE-approved devices and diagnostics (and ultimately digital therapeutics) improve patient care and reduce costs in-year. The uptake of these innovations will be supported through including them on national procurement frameworks, proposing reimbursement mechanisms and providing small amounts of financial support to assist providers with implementation.

It is proposed is that the MedTech Funding Mandate Policy will create a requirement from NHS England and NHS Improvement to providers and NHS commissioners to comply with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence2 (NICE) Medical Technologies Guidance (MTGs) and, when available, Diagnostic Guidance (DGs) for innovations that meet the following proposed criteria:

1. i) are effective;
2. ii) deliver material savings to the NHS;
3. iii) are cost-saving in-year3; and
4. iv) are affordable to the NHS.

We propose to implement the MedTech Funding Mandate Policy ( "the Policy") by producing guidance, updated annually, for providers and NHS commissioners, published on the Future NHS webpage, to include detailed information on the Policy, what is required of providers and NHS commissioners and a list of technologies covered. We propose that an obligation is placed on both NHS commissioners and providers in the NHS Standard Contract requiring them to comply with and observe recommendations made by guidance produced under the Policy. (There will be further consultation on the proposed wording to be included in the NHS Standard Contract in accordance with Standing Rules regulations.)

The MedTech Funding Mandate Policy builds on the Innovation Technology Payment4 (ITP) programme, setting out future procurement and reimbursement arrangements for technologies that meet the proposed criteria (including products currently supported by the ITP).

We will also propose to support getting these technologies to patients faster by:

• Reducing procurement barriers to adoption – working with NHS Supply Chain so that products covered by the MedTech Funding Mandate Policy are available on the relevant procurement framework so that NHS trusts and Foundation Trusts will not need to run their own local or regional procurements.
• Providing clarity on which type of organisation pays for these technologies – we propose that when the primary financial benefit is realised by NHS commissioners, these technologies will go on a tariff excluded list and NHS commissioners will pay as a pass-through payment. Conversely, where providers are the primary financial beneficiary, the technology will not go on the excluded list and providers will not receive an additional payment above the relevant tariff.

To find out more about how to get your technology through the NICE Evaluation programmes please contact Device Access