Overview
Early value assessment (EVA) guidance on virtual ward platform technologies for acute respiratory infections.
Implementation
NICE has developed tools and resources, in association with relevant stakeholders, to help organisations put this guidance into practice, including an evidence generation plan. The evidence generation plan gives further information on the prioritised evidence gaps and outcomes, ongoing studies and potential real-world data sources. It includes how the evidence gaps could be resolved through real-world evidence studies.
Guidance development process
Early value assessment (EVA) guidance rapidly provides recommendations on promising health technologies that have the potential to address national unmet need. NICE has assessed early evidence on these technologies to determine if earlier patient and system access in the NHS is appropriate while further evidence is generated. This assessment is a bespoke project as part of the Health Technology Assessment Innovation Laboratory (HTA Lab) programme at NICE. The process was closely modelled on NICE’s EVA programme while allowing flexibility to adapt to the specific issues associated with virtual ward platform technologies.
NICE has been asked to produce a number of products to support and inform the expansion of virtual ward provision and other intermediate care areas. This health technology evaluation provides recommendations on virtual ward platform technologies for providing virtual wards for people with acute respiratory infections. The aim is to outline key considerations and characteristics of the digital platforms, create an early economic model and identify outcomes to prioritise for future data collection.
The medical technologies advisory committee has considered the evidence and the views of clinical and patient experts. EVA guidance recommendations are conditional while more evidence is generated to address uncertainty in the evidence base. NICE has included advice in this guidance on how to minimise any clinical or system risk of early adoption of virtual ward platform technologies.
Further evidence will be generated over the next 4 years to assess if the benefits of these technologies are realised in practice. NICE guidance will be reviewed to include this evidence and make a recommendation on the routine adoption of this technology across the NHS.
How we develop NICE early value assessment guidance
Your responsibility
This guidance represents the view of NICE, arrived at after careful consideration of the evidence available. When exercising their judgement, healthcare professionals are expected to take this guidance fully into account, and specifically any special arrangements relating to the introduction of new interventional procedures. The guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer.
All problems (adverse events) related to a medicine or medical device used for treatment or in a procedure should be reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency using the Yellow Card Scheme.
Commissioners and/or providers have a responsibility to implement the guidance, in their local context, in light of their duties to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations. Nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties. Providers should ensure that governance structures are in place to review, authorise and monitor the introduction of new devices and procedures.
Commissioners and providers have a responsibility to promote an environmentally sustainable health and care system and should assess and reduce the environmental impact of implementing NICE recommendations wherever possible.