Launch of the National HealthTech Access Programme in England

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 program, initially called the Rules-Based Pathway for MedTech, has been under development since 2024. It forms part of a strategic open innovation approach to HealthTech, set out by the government in the 10 Year Health Plan.

The National Healthtech Access Programme represents a collaboration between NICE, the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, the MHRA, and the Office for Life Sciences.

The new approach will expand NICE’s Technology Appraisals programme to include health technologies beyond medicines (medical devices, diagnostics, and digital tools). NHS commissioners are legally obliged to fund treatments recommended by the NICE Technology Appraisal programme. Thus, a small selection of high-impact, clinically and cost-effective health technologies will be reimbursed and made available across the entire NHS.

NICE has announced the first two topics selected for the NHAP:

• Capsule sponge tests for detecting Barrett’s oesophagus and oesophageal cancer;
• AI tools for identifying prostate and breast cancer.

Two other topics have been commissioned by the Ministers to NICE, subject to further evidence: technologies to improve the detection of endometrial cancer in women with unexplained vaginal bleeding, and the use of AI to help analyze chest X-rays for suspected lung cancer in primary care referrals.

See more details here.

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