England

On July 30, 2024, NHS England announced the next steps in delegating commissioning responsibilities to local commissioners - integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England plans to complete the delegation of all ‘suitable and ready’ specialized services (the 59 services already delegated in three regions, plus 11 other services) in all seven regions by April 2025

In July 2024, SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) Healthcare launched new funding competitions in four priority areas: antimicrobial resistance, women’s health, urgent & emergency care, and stroke. All types of innovations are eligible, including but not limited to medical devices, in-vitro diagnostics, digital health, and AI solutions.

On July 12, 2024, the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) announced a new task group for multi-cancer detection (MCD) tests. The group will review different methods for the evaluation of MCDs, from which UK NSC is expected to derive a position statement and develop a roadmap for a possible MCD screening program.

In June 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published one new Interventional Procedures Guidance concerning minimally invasive percutaneous surgical techniques with internal fixation for correcting hallux valgus.

On June 13, 2024, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclatures for private payers in England, published Bulletins 196 and 092 with changes to be implemented no later than August 8, 2024. Five new procedure codes related to endoscopy, ENT, orthopedics, and spine, as well as seven new diagnostic codes were introduced.

In May 2024, a new NICE-wide topic prioritization manual was published. The manual sets out the process for how new guidance topics and updates to existing NICE guidance are identified, prioritized, and routed at NICE, as well as the decision-making framework used by the newly established prioritization board.

In May 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released one MedTech-related assessment in its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Journal, which concerned Doppler ultrasound surveillance of a recently formed hemodialysis arteriovenous fistula. 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 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance.

In May 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published three new Interventional Procedures Guidance concerning selective internal radiation therapy for liver metastases, endoscopic duodenal mucosal resurfacing in type 2 diabetes, and image-guided percutaneous laser ablation for liver tumours, and one Diagnostics Guidance on tumour profiling tests to guide adjuvant chemotherapy decisions in early breast cancer.

On May 23, 2024, NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) launched a joint consultation on their proposed rules-based, integrated, and predictable pathway for MedTech in the NHS. The five key elements of the pathway are pre-authorization (horizon scanning and engagement), authorization (regulatory approval), evaluation and guidance (including the NICE guidance programs), commercial and commissioning (both national and integrated care board levels), and scaled adoption. The deadline for submitting comments is August 15, 2024.

Women's health hubs comprise the new model of care outlined by the Department of Health and Social Care in the Women's Health Strategy (2022). The hub model aims to improve access to and experiences of care, improve health outcomes for women, and reduce health inequalities. In April 2024, NHS England published guidance to local commissioners, Integrated Care Boards (ICB). It requires that by the end of December 2024, at least one hub is operational in each ICB area and provides all core services.

On May 3, 2024, the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) Healthcare awarded £3.2 million to 22 innovations to improve patient care and save money while making the NHS greener. These include projects to explore the decontamination and recycling of single-use plastics, the use of at-home finger prick blood tests, and health apps.

In March 2021, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England, has published Bulletins 0175 and 0072 with changes to be implemented not later than May 01, 2021. Six new procedure codes related to gynecology, capsule endoscopy, and intracranial stereotactic radiotherapy were introduced. No changes were made in diagnostic test coding.