For UK HealthTech companies
Your user data won't unlock NHS contracts without clinical and economic evidence
Commissioners require a cost-effectiveness case before they can justify investment. Without one, the average healthtech company waits many months longer for commissioning, and the contracts at stake can be worth millions a year.
Two minutes. Solva follows up with specific health economics and real-world evidence options.
- Healthtech products failing to secure NHS contracts despite strong user data.
- Prolonged sales cycles and stalled adoption within private healthcare organisations.
- Inability to articulate clear value propositions to payers and commissioners.
- Competitors with stronger evidence bases gaining market share.
- Increased resource allocation to reactive evidence generation efforts.
- Diversion of R&D and commercial teams from core activities.
- Loss of potential revenue from delayed or denied market access (e.g., £500,000 to £5 million per year per NHS contract).
- Increased operational costs associated with extended sales cycles and additional evidence generation.
- Delayed patient access to potentially beneficial health technologies.
- Slower adoption of innovations that could improve patient outcomes.
- Damage to the company's credibility and trustworthiness within the healthcare ecosystem.
- Negative perception among potential partners and investors.
NICE's 2024 evidence standards framework review found that 67% of healthtech companies applying for NHS commissioning support lacked a credible health economic model, and this was the primary reason for rejection. (NICE, 2024)
Frequently asked questions
Why does this problem persist?
NHS commissioning decisions are evidence-based, and commissioners require clinical evidence and health economic analysis to justify investment in new technologies. Healthtech companies that have not developed a structured evidence strategy are unable to respond credibly to commissioner requests for evidence, and their products stall at the commissioning stage regardless of their clinical value. The evidence required varies by product type and commissioning level, but typically includes real-world evidence of clinical outcomes, a cost-effectiveness model, and alignment with NICE guidance where relevant.
What is the cost of leaving it unaddressed?
A healthtech company without a health economic model faces an average 14-month delay to NHS commissioning. Developing a health economic model and real-world evidence programme costs £30,000 to £80,000 but is typically required to access NHS contracts worth £500,000 to £5 million per year. (NICE, 2024)
This is exactly what I do with UK private practices. Answer the few questions above and I'll come back personally with where to start. Paul.