Sigma has been appointed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to help develop a new system that improves the identification of medical technologies for use in the NHS with the aim of improving patient care, supporting innovation, and bringing economic benefits to the wider health system.
NICE will be working closely with Sigma and involving a wide range of stakeholders to understand how the process of identifying and prioritising new and emerging medical technologies, diagnostics and digital heath tools can be improved.
As part of the 12-month project, Sigma will undertake robust research and map out with a range of users and stakeholders what happens now, what works well, and what could be improved to help ensure the platform achieves the desired outcomes for decisionmakers and other users.
Sigma will initially develop a prototype, which will be tested with intended users and stakeholders, before a decision is made to proceed to a design and build stage.
Managing director of Sigma, Hilary Stephenson, said: “The aim of the new system is to bring together existing intelligence on important new technologies, prevent duplication and inconsistency, and support decision-making around new technology, ensuring that money invested by both the NHS and manufacturers are in products that meet NHS priorities.
“It is therefore crucial that the proposed system meets stakeholder requirements and is in tune with their needs, which is why we have been brought in to provide comprehensive user insight to inform the technical specifications and ensure the design of the platform is strongly user driven."
Mark Salmon, programme director at NICE, added: “NHS England has commissioned this work from NICE to help identify the best med-tech products industry can offer that can improve patient care, support innovation and bring wider economic benefits to the health system.”