A review of NICE Medtech Innovation Briefings (MIBS) of digital health technologies
Skeldon G, Adkins E, Teague R. POSB291 A review of NICE Medtech Innovation Briefings (MIBS) of digital health technologies. Value Health 2021;24(S2).
Objectives
Over the last decade there has been rapid growth in digital health technologies (DHTs) and increasing recognition they are an important resource for healthcare delivery. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) uses several routes to produce information on DHTs to support informed decision-making, including guidelines, technology assessments, and briefings. Our objective was to review Medtech Innovation Briefings (MIBs) of DHTs, which summarise available evidence and expert opinion but do not make recommendations, to assess trends over time and the types of evidence presented.
Methods
MIBs were identified from NICE.org.uk. Data extracted and analysed from each MIB included DHT type, clinical evidence, costs, expert opinions, and patient input.
Results
21 MIBs on DHTs were identified (9.4% of all MIBS produced up to May 2021). The number per year increased from two in 2016, to eight in 2020. The most common category of DHT was remote sensing and wearables (38%). At the time of MIB publication, 62% of the technologies were being used in the NHS. Patient input was included in 43% of MIBs. Costs varied significantly, reflecting the variety of DHTs assessed. Clinical experts considered the level of innovativeness to be high, moderate, and marginal for 38%, 29%, and 19% of technologies, respectively. The quality of evidence was reported as ‘limited or low’ for 71% of MIBs, primarily due to the lack of randomised controlled trial data. CONCLUSION: Currently, the quality of the evidence for DHTs assessed in MIBs is low. However, NICE has recently introduced the evidence standards framework to improve the level of evidence that should be developed for DHTs. Therefore, it would be expected that the value of DHT MIBs to stakeholders will improve over time, allowing more accurate identification of DHTs that will add value to patients and the health and care system.
