England

On February 4, 2026, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England published the National Cancer Plan for England, setting out a decade-long, technology-enabled transformation of cancer services, with substantial commitments to diagnostics, AI, genomics, robotic surgery, digital tools, and innovation-driven care pathways. The key ambition is that, by 2035, three out of four people diagnosed with cancer will be cancer-free, or living well with cancer after five years.

On February 9, 2026, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) announced the launch of the new National Healthtech Access Programme (NHAP). The NHAP will expand NICE’s Technology Appraisals programme to include health technologies beyond medicines (medical devices, diagnostics, and digital tools), allowing mandatory reimbursement of recommended technologies. The first two NHAP topics are capsule sponge tests for detecting oesophageal cancer and AI tools for identifying prostate and breast cancer.

In January 2026, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released three Med Tech-related assessments in its HTA Journal, which concerned digital technologies for chronic tic disorders and Tourette Syndrome, bariatric surgical interventions for severe obesity, and laparoscopic surgery and medical treatment for deep endometriosis.

In January 2026, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published three new HealthTech Guidances (HTGs) on balloon cryoablation for Barrett's esophagus, digital self-help technologies for eating disorders, and digital technologies for managing mild to moderate symptoms of hip or knee osteoarthritis.

In January 2026, the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) published details of EquipoISE, a new framework to help evaluate whether multiple additional rare conditions could be added to the UK Newborn Blood Spot (NBS) Screening Programme. EquipoISE is designed as a rolling multi-condition in-service evaluation that works within the existing NHS screening pathway to answer key questions about test performance, clinical outcomes, and feasibility in real-world NHS settings.

In December 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released three Med Tech-related assessments in its HTA Journal, which concerned endoscopic treatments for obesity, whole-genome sequencing for rare diseases in newborn screening, and a tele-ophthalmology-enabled and artificial intelligence-ready referral pathway for community optometry referrals of retinal disease.

In December 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published one new Interventional Procedures Guidance on venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) for postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock in adults, and one new Early Value Assessment (EVA) on digital platforms to support cardiac rehabilitation.

In December 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in England updated its manual on technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies. The scope and terminology were clarified, and further details were provided to support the production of technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies on HealthTech (that is, medical devices, diagnostics, digital technologies).

On December 9, 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care launched a consultation on the government’s proposals to give ministers limited powers to direct the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in setting the standard cost-effectiveness threshold. Comments can be submitted online by January 13, 2026.

In November 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released four Med Tech-related assessments in its HTA Journal, which concerned procalcitonin evaluation of antibiotic use in COVID-19 hospitalized patients, comparison of the knee arthroplasty versus joint distraction for osteoarthritis, comparison of surgical approaches for mitral valve repair, as well as comparison of sample types for diagnostics of infected diabetic foot ulcers.

In November 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published one new Interventional Procedures Guidance on low-energy contact X-ray brachytherapy for rectal cancer with different recommendations depending on clinical indications. Furthermore, three new clinical guidelines were released.

On November 17, 2025, the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) launched a consultation on the 2025 evidence map relating to population screening for bladder cancer, which is not currently recommended in the UK. The evidence review found no substantial new evidence to change existing recommendations or commissioning further evidence synthesis work. The topic should be reconsidered by the UK NSC in three years. Organizations and the public are invited to submit comments until February 9, 2026.