Chris Whitehouse, a political consultant and expert on medical technology policy and regulation at Whitehouse Communications, flags new guidance from the NHS’s MedTech evaluator.
NICE has published updates to its health technology evaluation guidance (manuals PMG36 and PMG48) following consultations earlier this year.
The revised PMG36 manual is designed to support the production of technology appraisals for HealthTech products, including medical devices, diagnostics and digital technologies. These changes reflect the growing role of non-pharmaceutical innovations within the NHS and align with the ambitions set out in the NHS 10-Year Plan. The methods and processes are designed to produce robust guidance for the NHS in a transparent and timely way, with appropriate contribution from stakeholders.
In parallel, NICE has made minor updates to the HealthTech programme manual PMG48, as proposed during the consultation. These changes are intended to ensure consistency across NICE’s guidance documents and to reflect the updated approach set out in PMG36.
Although the changes to PMG48 are limited in scope, they form part of a broader effort by NICE to ensure its evaluation frameworks remain fit for purpose as the HealthTech sector continues to evolve.
NICE has also published a summary of consultation responses and its rationale for accepting or rejecting proposed changes, available via the ‘History’ tab alongside the updated manual.
The Author used AI in preparing this article. Comments upon or questions about this article can be addressed to chris.whitehouse@whitehousecomms.com.
