Innovation Pathways in the NHS: An Introductory Review

Abstract

Healthcare as an industry is recognised as one of the most innovative. Despite heavy regulation, there is substantial scope for new technologies and care models to not only boost patient outcomes but to do so at reduced cost to healthcare systems and consumers. Promoting innovation within national health systems such as the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom (UK) has been set as a key target for health care professionals and policy makers. However, while the UK has a world-class biomedical research industry, several reports in the last twenty years have highlighted the difficulties faced by the NHS in encouraging and adopting innovations, with the journey from idea to implementation of health technology often taking years and being very expensive, with a high failure rate. This has led to the establishment of several innovation pathways within and around the NHS, to encourage the invention, development and implementation of cost-effective technologies that improve health care delivery. These pathways span local, regional and national health infrastructure. They operate at different stages of the innovation pipeline, with their scope and work defined by location, technology area or industry sector, based on the specific problem identified when they were set up. In this introductory review, we outline each of the major innovation pathways operating at local, regional and national levels across the NHS, including their history, governance, operating procedures and areas of expertise. The extent to which innovation pathways address current challenges faced by innovators is discussed, as well as areas for improvement and future study.

Governing partnerships with technology companies as part of the COVID-19 response in Canada: A qualitative case study

“…Outside of emergencies, innovation accelerators embedded in health organizations can offer a testbed for governance experimentation, increase risk tolerance, and formalize social learning. The National Health Service (NHS) has developed a series of pathways to foster the invention, development, and implementation of innovations, including digital technologies [ 69 , 70 ]. These pathways exist to, among other functions, accelerate otherwise labyrinthine procurement processes for small and medium-sized companies, create pilot sites for deployments in partnership with academic medical centers, and support a class of fellows in scaling innovations across the country [ 69 , 70 ].…”

“…The National Health Service (NHS) has developed a series of pathways to foster the invention, development, and implementation of innovations, including digital technologies [ 69 , 70 ]. These pathways exist to, among other functions, accelerate otherwise labyrinthine procurement processes for small and medium-sized companies, create pilot sites for deployments in partnership with academic medical centers, and support a class of fellows in scaling innovations across the country [ 69 , 70 ]. Similar accelerators exist at academic medical centers in the United States, such as at the University of California San Francisco and Mass General Brigham [ 71 , 72 ].…”

Artificial Intelligence as a Diagnostic Tool in Non-Invasive Imaging in the Assessment of Coronary Artery Disease

“…These costs will need to be carefully weighed against anticipated gains, such as potential cost savings per patient when factoring in faster processing times resulting in shorter patient waiting lists; percentage reduction of missed diagnoses, assuming that the new AI technology offers greater sensitivity and specificity [ 109 ]. In-depth studies regarding the cost effectiveness and related quality-adjusted life year (QALY) associated with using an AI-based intervention will be necessary to assess clinical and economic implications [ 110 ]. Various programmes have been set up recently to support the development, evaluation, and cost assessment of promising new AI technology.…”

“…Various programmes have been set up recently to support the development, evaluation, and cost assessment of promising new AI technology. In fact, the accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC), in partnership with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), has introduced the AI in Health and Care Award [ 110 ], which is a National Health Service (NHS) AI Lab programme designed to support technologies across a spectrum of development, from initial feasibility to final evaluation, within the NHS. This award’s key role is to help establish a broad network of technology testing infrastructure for innovation [ 110 ].…”

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“…Although of great importance, embedding innovation structurally in health care organizations is not simple [14][15][16]. Organizations encounter difficulties in structuring their innovation processes [3,17,18], while existing procedures and regulations often restrain innovative initiatives [10,19]; moving to a state of readiness for innovation differs from preparing to introduce a specific innovation [2].…”