5 tips to help get your healthtech product to market, fast

Are you facing challenges in quickly bringing new healthtech products to market? The NHS is a large and complex system and introducing new technologies can be daunting. Here are my top tips for smoothing your product's journey from development to patient access.

You’ll also find a few examples of how our independent consultancy service for life sciences companies, NICE Advice, can help you. NICE Advice operates separately from our guidance-producing programmes, offering competitively-priced, expert support to companies ready to invest in their market access strategy. 

1.    Understand and align with NHS priorities and challenges

Consider how your product addresses specific NHS priorities and challenges, such as reducing waiting times, improving patient outcomes in key clinical areas, or increasing system efficiency. Align your value proposition with these to enhance your product's appeal to NHS decision-makers and accelerate its adoption.

Topics prioritised for guidance development are outlined in our forward view. If your topic is not prioritised, NICE Advice is ready to support you to prepare for your engagement with NHS payers or commissioners. We encourage you to get in touch.

2.    Register your product with the NHS Innovation Service

This free, online platform is your gateway to bringing innovative healthtech solutions to NHS patients. It offers coordinated support from leading organisations, including NICE, and provides helpful information such as details of funding opportunities and competitions. By keeping a centralised record of your technology, the NHS Innovation Service ensures your product is on the radar of key national organisations such as NICE, NHS Supply Chain and NHS England.

3.    Engage with the health system early

Early engagement with relevant stakeholders, such as local NHS organisations, regional health innovation networks, or national support services like NICE Advice, is crucial. Such collaborations can help you secure buy-in and gain confidence in your approach.

You’ll find early engagement with NICE Advice particularly valuable. We can help you get your evidence plans and market access strategies right the first time, saving you time and money. Want to avoid costly missteps and revisions later in the development process? Consider our support as a prudent de-risking investment for your future success.

4.    Identify your route to market

Understanding your most effective route into the NHS is essential to avoid delays. It’s critical for ensuring your healthtech product reaches the patients it’s designed to help.

NICE Advice offers a 1-hour surgery providing an overview of relevant NHS access routes and a 2 to 3-hour system engagement meeting for more complex issues. These services can help you navigate your route to market through discussions with experts and stakeholders.

5.    Pinpoint evidence blind spots

As part of the NHS in England's health technology assessment body, we help to set the evidence standards for nationwide market entry. Without a robust evidence base and impactful value proposition, you risk delays in market access.

NICE Advice’s evidence gap analysis service (META tool) can help you identify areas of weakness, avoid expensive mistakes, and prepare effectively for NHS market entry. This service includes a meeting with a NICE expert and a report highlighting the main gaps and recommended actions.

For products recommended for early use in the NHS through our Early Value Assessment Programme, we offer support in developing targeted evidence generation plans and facilitating collaborations with key stakeholders. The aim is to support healthtech developers to produce the evidence needed for us to make a clear recommendation about future routine NHS use.

Taking the next step

Are you ready to take the next step on your market access journey? Get in touch with NICE Advice’s friendly and helpful team. It takes just a few minutes to complete our enquiry form. Simply give a quick overview of your product and the type of support you’re looking for and we’ll get back to you.

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