Innovation and Technology Payment (ITP) announced today

The NHS Innovation and Technology Payment (ITP) programme went live on 1 April 2018, in follow up to the Innovation and Technology Tariff (ITT) launched last year.

Delivered in partnership with the Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs), the ITP aims to remove barriers to the spread and adoption of innovative products or technologies (medical devices, digital platforms and technologies), and the need for multiple price negotiations.

Innovations accepted on to the ITP are directly funded by NHS England and will be available to NHS organisations from April 2018 for one year, after which the support  will be reviewed. Find out more on the NHS England website.

NHS England also announced a nationally-backed trial of a technology to cut missed hospital appointments by Wessex-based DrDoctor, as well as a further £1.5 million to pump prime the spread of innovations.

Promising developments are sometimes not adopted because of a lack of evidence to support their use. The money found by NHS England will fund real world evaluation of innovations, including DrDoctor, which allows patients to reschedule their own appointments rather than miss them. You can watch a presentation about DrDoctor below. 

The ITP builds on the recommendations of the Accelerated Access Review (AAR) by offering routes and support for new innovations and technologies that can make a real difference to patient care and outcomes. The programme forms part of a wider set of activities to support innovation in the NHS, led by NHS England with the AHSN Network.

The innovations offered through the ITP are:

• Endocuff Vision® - a new type of bowel scope that improves colorectal examination for patients undergoing bowel cancer screening. For every 1000 patients treated it is estimated that 6 cases of cancer could be avoided through the use of this device. Read more.
  
  
• Heartflow®  - advanced image analysis software that creates a 3D model of the coronary arteries and analyses the impact that blockages have on blood flow to rapidly diagnose patients with suspected Coronary Heart Disease (CAD). Its use may avoid the need for invasive investigations and provide a cost saving of £214 per patient. Recommended by NICE. Read more.
  
  
• Ethicon Plus Antibacterial Sutures - a new type of surgical suture that reduces the rate of Surgical Site Infection (SSI), such as MRSA, through the use of antimicrobial suture packs. Read more.
  
  
• SecurAcath - a device to secure catheters that is associated with a low incidence of catheter-associated complications, improved stability and reduced infection risk for patients with a peripherally inserted central catheter. The device has the potential for cost savings from a reduction in the time taken during dressing changes. Recommended by NICE. Read more.