Market Access and Patient Activation
Understand how ICSs demand new ways of collaborating and engaging with the NHS
-
Americas
-
Asia & Oceania
-
A-I
J-Z
EMEA Thought Leadership
Developing IQVIA’s positions on key trends in the pharma and life sciences industries, with a focus on EMEA.
Learn more -
Middle East & Africa
EMEA Thought Leadership
Developing IQVIA’s positions on key trends in the pharma and life sciences industries, with a focus on EMEA.
Learn more
Regions
-
Americas
-
Asia & Oceania
-
Europe
-
Middle East & Africa
-
Americas
-
Asia & Oceania
-
Europe
Europe
- Adriatic
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Czech Republic
- Deutschland
- España
- France
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italia
EMEA Thought Leadership
Developing IQVIA’s positions on key trends in the pharma and life sciences industries, with a focus on EMEA.
Learn more -
Middle East & Africa
EMEA Thought Leadership
Developing IQVIA’s positions on key trends in the pharma and life sciences industries, with a focus on EMEA.
Learn more
SOLUTIONS
-
NHS Solutions
-
Life Sciences Industry
-
Advancing UK Healthcare
-
Pharmacy Communications
NHS Solutions
Utilising the extensive range of data assets exclusively available to IQVIA, combined with our market leading expertise, we are able to support the NHS meet the challenge of delivering high quality, efficient and cost effective healthcare by identifying actionable insight and realising the value in data.
Learn MoreNHS Solutions
Life Sciences Industry
We believe in the UK’s potential to become a global leader in the life sciences sector, and our investments announced in the 2018 Second Life Sciences Sector Deal further support the UK Government and the industry’s aim to make that potential a reality.
Learn MoreLife Sciences Industry Solutions
Advancing UK Healthcare
We are committed to providing solutions that inform and enable all stakeholders across UK healthcare, to innovate with confidence, maximise opportunities, and, ultimately, drive human health outcomes forward.
Learn MoreAdvancing UK Healthcare Solutions
Pharmacy Communications
IQVIA’s Pharmacy Communications offers pharma companies a simple and cost-effective channel to communicate product changes, updates and patient advice directly to patients via pharmacists.
Learn MoreBLOGS, WHITEPAPERS & CASE STUDIES
Explore our library of resources spanning the healthcare & life science ecosystem on the latest topics, trends, and market developments that matter to you.
Learn MoreBlog
Accelerating innovation across the healthcare system
Sep 23, 2024
Introduction
Adopting innovation in healthcare, especially within the NHS, is a complex challenge that requires a strategic approach to overcome systemic barriers. For HealthTech and life sciences industries, engaging with the NHS to implement innovation at scale is more critical than ever. Innovation has evolved from a "nice-to-have" to an essential part of advancing healthcare, but there are financial and logistical challenges. This blog explores how the NHS and industry can collaborate to accelerate innovation adoption, navigate challenges, and transform patient care.
Current challenges in the healthcare system
The healthcare system is currently facing unprecedented challenges: workforce shortages, funding constraints, productivity issues, health inequalities and a growing elective care backlog following the pandemic. The NHS is tackling these challenges alongside the goal of achieving a net-zero carbon footprint to contribute to climate change. Innovation is a vital tool in addressing these issues and is fundamental to the NHS’s future of a sustainable and effective healthcare provider.
However, conflicting priorities often create obstacles for innovators. While NHS England focuses on prevention, early intervention, and diagnostics, provider organisations are constrained by budgets and productivity targets. So, innovators must clearly articulate the short, medium, and long-term benefits of their solutions to align with NHS priorities and successfully navigate these conflicting demands.
The role of Health Innovation Networks (HINs)
In 2023, the NHS rebranded 15 Academic Health Science Networks in England to become Health Innovation Networks (HINs)1. These networks support the NHS to spread and adopt innovations more rapidly, acting as a bridge between industry and the NHS. HINs facilitate mutual understanding and engagement and improve patient care through the development and deployment of new innovations. Additionally, they support the NHS to improve patient care by creating, developing and deploying innovations faster, recognising that this contributes to the UK’s economic growth.
Barriers to innovation adoption
Adopting innovation in the NHS is often delayed by limited resources, capacity, and capabilities to implement new service delivery models while maintaining existing care standards. Despite the recognised value of innovation, deployment can be challenging, especially under current system pressures. Promising solutions can remain unused due to the complexities of implementation.
Efforts are underway to simplify this process, with initiatives aimed at creating centralised funding and procurement routes that can help the NHS utilise new technologies more effectively. While some aspects of innovation must be locally led, these centralised streamlined approaches can ensure that advances in HealthTech and other innovative solutions are more accessible across the whole healthcare system.
One ongoing challenge to innovation adoption in healthcare is the silo of budgets and value realisation. With current funding pressures, a new innovation introduced in secondary care may, for example, deliver a cost saving by reducing readmissions in a different part of the pathway or even outside the trust in primary or social care. This means there needs to be collaborative working across the whole pathway with ICBs driving accountability.
The need for local ownership
For innovation to thrive, it must be embraced at the frontline level. Top-down imposition of technology is often ineffective; instead, innovations need to be understood, owned, and adapted by clinicians and other healthcare professionals. Balancing centralised strategies with local engagement is essential to facilitate adoption.
The role of life sciences and HealthTech companies
Life sciences and HealthTech companies play a critical role in supporting innovation adoption through strategic partnerships with the NHS. These collaborations bring together resources and expertise, enabling a deeper understanding of pathway transformations and procurement processes. The focus should not just be on pushing products but on driving meaningful change within healthcare pathways.
The twin-track approach, which integrates innovation alongside existing service delivery, highlights the importance of a holistic view. Innovators must consider not only how to introduce new technologies but also how they will integrate within existing healthcare frameworks.
Co-creation with the healthcare system
Successful innovations are often those co-created with the entire healthcare system, including patient input. Closed Loop Medicine2 focus on treating the individual patient and not the disease through precision medicine which combines data science, technology, and pharmaceuticals to personalise medication dosing at scale. By continuously gathering data on patient responses, Closed Loop Medicine customises interventions that improve outcomes and reduces pressure on healthcare providers.
To support this work, Closed Loop Medicine participated in a two-month IQVIA accelerator programme which identified synergies and opportunities for NHS collaboration. This experience developed Closed Loop Medicine’s strategic thinking, provided exposure to global innovators, and offered valuable insights into new areas of the NHS. The program reinforced the importance of co-creation, particularly in developing patient support programmes and enhancing medication adoption within the NHS.
Innovation hubs: accelerating adoption
One of the very tangible changes following the IQVIA accelerator programme was the creation of an IQVIA innovation hub in the UK to help to identify organisations like Closed Loop Medicine who can work with IQVIA to co-create a solution and bring those into the NHS.
Innovation hubs connect industry and healthcare professionals to facilitate the adoption of innovative solutions. The National Innovation Accelerator has various innovation hubs across the country such as Propel in the north of England3 which is Yorkshire and Humber HIN’s digital accelerator programme open to all SMEs and aims to ‘turbo charge digital innovation’. These hubs are excellent examples of how these initiatives nurture meaningful dialogue and partnerships, matching innovators with NHS providers.
Conclusion
Accelerating innovation in healthcare requires a clear understanding of NHS challenges and a commitment to collaborative solutions. Innovators must prioritise outcomes, listen to both staff and patients, and adopt a holistic vision for service transformation which includes an understanding of the financial flows within care pathways. Early engagement, co-creation, and adaptability are crucial to ensuring that innovations can be effectively adopted and scaled within the NHS.
To transform care in the UK, it’s vital to build strategic partnerships, embrace new working models, and continuously focus on improving patient outcomes and healthcare sustainability. By working together, the NHS, industry, and innovators can drive the adoption of transformative solutions, making a lasting impact on the future of healthcare.