England

On March 6, 2025, NHS England released an annual update of the HRG4+ Local Payment Grouper for 2025/26, to come into effect on April 1, 2025. No new HRGs were added; the total number of HRGs has not changed (2,900).

On March 13, 2025, a major organizational reform was announced by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). It is planned to abolish the NHS England and reintegrate its functions into the DHSC. The initiative aims to reduce bureaucracy, eliminate duplication between the two bodies, improve efficiency, and cut costs. The transition is expected to be completed within the next two years.

In February 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published one new Interventional Procedures Guidance on intravascular lithotripsy during percutaneous coronary intervention. Furthermore, one clinical guideline was updated.

On February 17, 2025, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclatures for private payers in England, published Bulletins 200 and 096 with changes to be implemented no later than March 10, 2025. Thirty-five new procedure codes related to cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, nephrology, peripheral vascular, and general surgery areas and ten new diagnostic codes concerning in-vitro diagnostics, endoscopy, and pulmonology were introduced.

In February 2025, SBRI Healthcare, funded by the NHS Accelerated Access Collaborative, announced the results of three competitions. Funding of £1.3m was allocated for the development of 14 innovations that support women’s health, £1m for the development of 11 innovations that improve infection prevention and control to mitigate the spread of antimicrobial resistance, and £3 million to support four innovations that improve the health and well-being of children and young people who have asthma, epilepsy, or diabetes.

In January 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released two Med Tech-related assessments in its HTA Journal, which concerned a clinical decision support tool for lower urinary tract symptom in men and multi-cancer early detection tests for general population screening. HTA Journal publishes research reports on the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage, and provide care in the NHS and informs NICE guidance.

On February 7, 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a manual for a new HealthTech program and launched a consultation. The HealthTech program will produce two types of guidance: Interventional Procedures guidance and HealthTech guidance (replacing former Medical Technologies guidance and Diagnostics guidance). The deadline for comments submission is March 6, 2025.

On January 30, 2025, NHS England published a proposed 2025/26 NHS Payment Scheme (NHSPS) and launched a consultation. The scheme will be set for one financial year (starting on April 1, 2025). No significant changes were made to the general payment model. The changes include the introduction of tariffs for activities from Community Diagnostic Centres and a new Best Practice Tariff to incentivize shifting suitable procedures from day case or elective settings to outpatient settings. The deadline for comments submission is February 28, 2025.

In January 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new Interventional Procedures Guidance (Transperineal laser ablation for lower urinary tract symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia, electrically stimulated intravesical therapy for interstitial cystitis or overactive bladder) and one new Early Value Assessment (Artificial intelligence technologies to help detect fractures on X-rays in urgent care). Furthermore, one new clinical guideline was published, and one was updated.

On January 16, 2025, NHS England published an updated work plan for specialized clinical commissioning policies production. One Med Tech-related policy in the neuromodulation field was added to the work plan. No policies have been published since the previous update.

In December 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released four Med Tech-related assessments in its HTA Journal, which concerned cervical ripening during labor induction in different settings, fasciectomy surgery for Dupuytren's contracture in adults, hybrid closed-loop systems in type 1 diabetes, point-of-care tests for urinary tract infections. HTA Journal publishes research reports on the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage, and provide care in the NHS and informs NICE guidance.

On January 6, 2025, NHS England, jointly with the Department of Health and Social Care, published the plan to reform elective care. The key commitment is to return to a standard where 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029. To achieve this, NHS England has proposed an action plan, including financial incentives for elective care in areas with the longest waiting list.