What is NICE Recommendation and Why is it Useful?

When setting out on your journey towards MedTech adoption into the National Health Service (NHS), you may consider gaining a product recommendation for its use from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Understanding current care pathways and being able to demonstrate the value of your medical device is vital, but NICE MedTech recommendation can help expedite your market access journey.

But who are NICE, and how can their recommendation help in demonstrating the value of your medical device? We will look at the benefits of NICE recommendation for MedTech, including the MedTech Funding Mandate.

What is NICE MedTech Recommendation?

NICE exists to improve health and social care through evidence-based guidance. It is widely respected by the healthcare community. Independent committees review the evidence, not just for the effectiveness of the device, but also the value that it offers. It’s there to demonstrate the benefits to patients, providers of care and payers of care.

Our aim here at Device Access is to help you achieve approvals recommendation, fill out the form on out contact page to find out how we can help.

What are The Benefits of NICE MedTech Recommendation?

A lot of work goes into preparing for NICE review, but once the recommendation is achieved, there are numerous benefits. Essentially, NICE MedTech recommendation facilitates the smoother and faster adoption into usage in the NHS.

Faster Adoption

It is much easier to convince payers at a hospital-level to adopt your technology if it is recommended by NICE. Caregivers, providers and payers trust NICE, and many won’t change care without having their recommendation. It tells payers that your device has already been comprehensively reviewed for value and approved by experts. To an extent, it will mean that you won’t have to prove to each person you approach that your device actually works because it has already passed NICE’s guidance.

On top of that, when a device receives NICE MedTech Guidance recommendation, NHS Hospitals are legally obliged to have regard to their guidance if it is clinically appropriate and believed to be the right treatment, in line with the NHS Constitution and NHS Standard Contract section 2.1.6. Hospital Trusts have a contractual and reputational risk for not doing so. Find out more about this from our recent interview with NICE and an NHS Hospital Manager.

As a result, adoption into the NHS will be much quicker because any issues regarding safety, clinical efficacy and value have already been proven. This makes going through NICE an extremely efficient option, not to be ignored.

The MedTech Funding Mandate

The MedTech Funding Mandate is an initiative designed to support getting innovative medical devices to patients faster, in order to improve patient care, as well as saving the NHS money. Under this initiative, devices that have been recommended by NICE will be part of an annual highlight. As part of this, they will also be providing additional support and demonstrating how devices have been of benefit to other NHS organisations. This provides more opportunity for adoption into the NHS, on top of already having NICE’s recommendation. For technologies to be selected, they generally need to have gone through NICE’s programmes to show safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness.

If you would like to learn more, please read our article on the NHS MedTech Funding Mandate

Worldwide Recognition

Although NICE only recommends technology directly to NHS England, the organisation is recognised as the leading HTA across the world, as is the NHS. This means that gaining NICE recommendation for your Medical device or diagnostic in England, can also assist your market access strategy internationally.

Start Your Journey into the NHS Today

The benefits of NICE recommendation demonstrates how a properly executed market access strategy can expedite your device’s journey into the NHS. Without a properly planned strategy, your journey may be halted and delayed. Proving the value of your product is about much more than just the cost, and we can help you to demonstrate that. Take a look at our services to see what we can offer you.

We’re here to advise you on the best engagement strategy for your device, we aim to get great technologies to patients faster through market access consultancy. Don’t hesitate in getting in touch by visiting our contact page to discuss how we can help you.