Equality and health inequalities assessment

What are the main aims, objectives and intended outcomes?

The aim of this project is to assess the value of health technologies that are in established use in the NHS, harnessing the perspective of healthcare professionals, patients and the NHS. It will refine and tailor NICE's existing guidance methods and processes for late-stage assessment and will also develop additional approaches, as needed, to fully capture the value of technologies already in established use in the NHS.

This continues NICE's transformation and the development of its lifecycle evaluative approach to health technologies, capturing the value of innovation at the different stages of technology development – Early Value Assessment for new technologies with emerging evidence; Guidance for new technologies ready for widespread NHS adoption; and Late-stage assessment for technologies that are already in established use in NHS.

How does this fit in with the objectives of NICE?

This project supports delivery of NICE's 'Useful and usable' business plan objective to ensure that NICE guidance is as useful and usable as it can be and that it is easy for our stakeholders to access all the information they need as quickly and easily as possible. Late Stage Assessment also aligns with the Medical Technology Strategy aim for the right product, for the right patient and the right time.

How does it relate to other NICE policies or activity?

This project will link to existing policies and activity within NICE relating to the governance of NICE and development of NICE guidance, including our equality scheme.

Who will benefit from it?

Late-stage assessment (LSA) aims to assess technologies that are in widespread or established use in the NHS to inform commissioning and procurement decisions. Patients and healthcare professionals benefit from technology choice, yet the vast array of options, including over 500,000 technologies regularly used in the NHS, complicates selecting the appropriate technology at the right price for the right patient. Many technologies, while claiming innovation, offer little differentiation, overshadowing truly advantageous ones. This abundance creates market entry barriers for superior technologies, and it makes it challenging for the UK healthcare system to choose from a diverse range of technologies in a way that maximises patient and system benefit, and value for money. Additionally, adopting new technologies often demands substantial changes and resources, limiting technology switching. LSA aims to inform procurement by evaluating if incremental innovations are value for money, focusing on capturing the product features most relevant to patients and healthcare providers and evaluating how they impact clinical and non-clinical outcomes and user preferences. This will support clinical practitioners, managers and commissioners to use NHS resources as effectively as possible, to ensure patient and system benefits are maximised, and to secure value for money.

What are the main activities involved in implementation?

Implementation steps will include reviewing the interim methods and processes after consultation, delivering the first eight topics and incorporating lessons learnt, incorporating appropriate stakeholder engagement including with industry and relevant patient or clinical groups. You can find a list of the 8 topics here.