MedTech Funding Mandate and MedTech Support

The NHS Long Term Plan committed to accelerate the uptake of selected innovative medical devices, diagnostics, and digital products, by developing the MedTech Funding Mandate (MTFM) policy that launched on 1 April 2021. The MTFM aims to ensure patients and the NHS benefit from clinically effective and cost saving medical technologies faster and more equitably.

Technologies covered by the MTFM are typically funded by commissioners from their existing allocations. This is deliverable as the technologies supported are National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended and meet the criteria to save costs and resources and make a return on investment within three years.

For the 2023/24 financial year, an updated version of the guidance document has been published. Read the updated guidance here.

Impact to date

2021/22 marked the first year of the MedTech Funding Mandate Policy, where four technologies were supported. Patients are, on average, now accessing these technologies in over three quarters of eligible providers.

During 2021/22, the monthly number of patients accessing Heartflow increased by 35% and over the year, the innovation created over £2.2 million worth of savings for the NHS, bringing the total savings it has generated while under MTFM support to £5 million.

Gammacore and placental growth factor-based testing both saw their usage rise in 2021/22, with a further 19 trusts adopting Gammacore and eight more offering patients PLGF, despite the removal of national, ring-fenced funding. Gammacore is now offered to patients by 95% of eligible providers.

Between 2021 and 2023, the number of patients accessing SecurAcath rose by 518%, from 1500 to 9270 per month. In 2021/22, the innovation achieved estimated savings of £2.5million.

The MTFM has continued to ensure patients get quicker access to innovative technologies in 2022/23, with 141,895 patients benefitting from use of MTFM supported technologies.

Rebecca Sanderson describes how she benefited from access to PLGF:

“In my first two pregnancies I was in and out of hospital and was eventually diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. The frequent monitoring and sometimes long stays in hospital waiting for results meant I had a lot of disruption to my home and work life. ​

Now in my third pregnancy a simple and quick blood test to rule out pre-eclampsia showed that I didn’t need to be admitted to hospital and I was able to go home and be with my family, with the peace of mind that I was okay”.

The MedTech funding mandate has helped the NHS build strong foundations for supporting innovative medtech. In 2022/23 a further seven technologies were introduced, offering further cost savings, improved patient experience, and health outcomes.

How the policy works

To be supported by the MTFM, technologies must meet the policy’s three criteria and align with broader NHS England programmes (for example, Net Zero). These criteria require that technologies:

  • Are effective: Demonstrated through positive NICE Medical Technology Guidance (MTG) or Diagnostic Guidance (DG)
  • Are cost-saving within three years: NICE modelling demonstrates a net saving within 3 years of implementing the technology, demonstrated by a published NICE resource impact template.
  • Are affordable to the NHS: The budget impact should not exceed £20 million nationally, in any of the first three years.

NHS England together with the Heath Innovation Network and NHS Supply Chain continuously assess published NICE guidance to understand which technologies meet this criteria.

Technologies supported by the MedTech Funding Mandate in 2024/25

The first new technology selected for support in 2024/25 is AposHealth.

  • AposHealth is a non-invasive device worn on the feet to reduce pain and improve function in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The device consists of a pair of AposHealth shoes with 2 curved pods (pertupods) on the heel and forefoot of each shoe. The pertupods are securely attached to tracks on the bottom of the shoe with screws. Positioning of the pertupods is done by trained healthcare professionals and can be aided by gait analysis software or hardware. AposHealth is recommended as a cost-saving treatment for patients unsuitable for knee replacement surgery. NICE Guidance MTG76.

NHS providers and commissioners are encouraged to review NICE MTG76 and contact NHS Supply Chain to understand the benefits of adopting AposHealth, as well as other other MTFM supported technologies.

Technologies supported by the MedTech Funding Mandate in 2021/22 and 2022/23

The MTFM will continue supporting the four technologies selected in 2021/22 and the seven selected for support in 2022/23.

The technologies selected for support in 2022/23 were:

  • UroLift: the UroLift system lifts and holds the enlarged prostate tissue away from the urethra, relieving the compression of this organ. It can be performed under local anaesthesia in an outpatient setting or ambulatory care centre, and the patient can return home the same day without a catheter. NICE guidance MTG58.
  • GreenLight XPS: the GreenLight XPS vaporises prostatic tissue with a laser. The laser fibre is passed through a cystoscope to photoselectively vaporise the enlarged prostate tissue, leaving a clear urethral channel. GreenLight XPS can be done as a day case procedure, reduces the risk of complications and allows a quicker return to normal activity. NICE guidance MTG29.
  • Rezum: Rezum is a minimally invasive procedure that uses water vapour (steam) to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia. The technology delivers targeted, controlled doses of stored thermal energy in water vapour directly to the region of the prostate gland with the obstructive tissue causing lower urinary tract symptoms. Rezum effectively alleviates benign prostatic hyperplasia and patients can be treated as outpatients. NICE guidance MTG49.
  • PLASMA system: PLASMA is a bipolar electrosurgery system for transurethral resection and haemostasis of the prostate. The system uses electrodes to cut out (resect) prostate tissue and stop any local bleeding afterwards (haemostasis), which avoids the risk of transurethral resection syndrome and reduces the need for blood transfusion. This procedure can be done as a day case. NICE guidance MTG53.
  • XprESS multi-sinus dilation system: the XprESS multi-sinus dilation system is a sterile, single-use device for treating chronic sinusitis. Dilation of the XprESS balloon remodels the bony sinus outflow tract by displacing adjacent bone and paranasal sinus structures. This has the potential to reduce the tissue lost compared to traditional functional endoscopic sinus surgery procedures. NICE guidance MTG30.
  • Thopaz+: Thopaz+ is a portable digital chest drain system that provides regulated negative pressure close to the patient’s chest and continuously monitors and records air leak and fluid drainage. The system comprises an inbuilt, regulated suction pump with a digital display, rechargeable battery, tubing that connects to any standard chest drain catheter and a Thopaz+ disposable fluid collection canister. Sensors in the system turn the pump on and off to ensure the pressure level set by the healthcare professional is precisely maintained. NICE guidance MTG37.
  • Spectra Optia: The Spectra Optia Apheresis System is an apheresis and cell collection platform for the treatment of sickle cell disease. In a typical exchange procedure, Spectra Optia separates and removes sickle red blood cells from the patient’s blood using continuous flow and centrifugation. These are replaced with healthy red blood cells according to the user-defined software protocol. NICE guidance MTG28.

The technologies selected for support in 2021/22 were:

  • Placental growth factor based-testing: Placental growth factor based-testing are blood tests for ruling out pre-eclampsia in pregnant women. Placental growth factor-based tests are intended to be used with clinical judgement and other diagnostic tests, to help rule out suspected pre-eclampsia. This assessment focuses on ruling out pre-eclampsia in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. NICE guidance DG49.
  • SecurAcath: SecurAcath is a device for securing percutaneous catheters. SecurAcath is used to secure peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) and should be considered for any PICC with an anticipated medium to long-term dwell time (15 days or more). NICE guidance MTG34.
  • Heartflow: Heartflow creates a 3D model of a patient’s coronary arteries and assesses the extent and location of blockages. HeartFlow fractional flow reserve – computed tomography estimates fractional flow reserve from coronary CT angiography for patients with stable, recent-onset chest pain, therefore avoiding invasive investigation and treatment. NICE guidance MTG32.
  • gammaCore: gammaCore is a handheld and non-invasive device which stimulates the vagus nerve and is used to treat and prevent the symptoms of severe cluster headaches. It is self-administered by the person or their carer. NICE guidance MTG46.

Additional information

Our FutureNHS collaboration platform contains more information and helpful resources on the MedTech Funding Mandate Policy.

Please email england.medtechfundingmandate@nhs.net for any queries and to request access to our FutureNHS platform.

Providers wishing to implement MTFM supported technologies should contact their local AHSN.

Information on how to procure MTFM supported technologies can be found on NHS Supply Chain’s MedTech Funding Mandate page.

Finally the videos available on the ASHN YouTube channel, provide an overview of the policy and the financial flow between NHS England, healthcare providers and commissioners.

Introducing the Health Technology Navigation Pathway Tool

The Health Technology Navigation Pathway Tool was created for health technology innovators and developers in England to help them navigate the different stages involved in getting a new technology adopted into the NHS.

The tool explains the innovation journey through a five-stage process, highlighting the key steps and activities involved at each stage, so that innovators can understand the end-to-end pathway from creation through to product commissioning and monitoring.

Health Technology Adoption and Accelerator Fund

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England (NHSE) have launched a new in year investment of £30 million to support the adoption and acceleration of technologies which can improve patient care and bring clinical system benefits, for example by cutting waiting lists, speeding up diagnosis or delivering new and improved ways to treat patients. The Health Technology Adoption Accelerator Fund (HTAAF) aims to propel innovative medical technology (MedTech) more quickly into patients’ care pathways.