Must-attend MedTech engagement sessions on Value Based Procurement
Chris Whitehouse, a political consultant and expert on medical technology policy and regulation at Whitehouse Communications, an advisor to MedTech suppliers, chair of the Urology Trade Association, and governor of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, highlights must-attend opportunities for the MedTech sector to get to grips with coming value based procurement methodology.
The MedTech Directorate of the Department of Health and Social Care has called on MedTech developers and suppliers to come together with officials better to understand the impact of the paradigm-shifting new value-based approach to procurement that will imminently be introduced for devices procured by the NHS.
With the draft new methodology for assessing value out for testing by several local NHS organisations, the Department has called two market engagement sessions and invited suppliers to register to find out more. The plans aim to deliver change from a system based predominantly on price, to one that puts patient experience and outcomes, and hence the impact on whole system costs, at the heart of the value assessment process.
The online sessions will be held on 7th and 13th May, and suppliers are being encouraged to register to attend one of them.
Having been involved with the MedTech Directorate in developing this approach for over two years, this column is aware that it will fundamentally change the way product value is assessed. To date, industry engagement has not been as great as it should be in influencing the rules of the market within which it operates. It’s not too late for the sector to help shape the final outcome to ensure that any challenges are identified and mitigated.
In particular, it is important that the evidence of value required under the new system is proportionate, and that it takes into account real world studies, particularly if they have been industry funded but delivered with NHS or social care partners. The kind of randomised controlled trials relied upon by NICE and the MHRA are simply not realistic for many products in the medical devices sector and should not be seen as an appropriate standard for this new approach.
The Author used AI in preparing this article. Comments upon or questions about this article can be addressed to [email protected].
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