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Diagnostics and the route out of the NHS backlog

Panel discussion with Professor Sir Mike Richards CBE, Chair of the Independent Review of Diagnostic Services for NHS England; Dr Justin Whatling, Managing Director Global Health & Life Sciences, Palantir; Katherine Ward, Chief Commercial Officer and Managing Director, Healthy.io; Danielle Joseph, Programme Director, the Black Country and West Birmingham Acute Provider Collaboration; Dr Sarah Byron, Interim Programme Director for Devices, Diagnostics and Digital Technologies, NICE; and Matthew Swindells, Senior Adviser, Global Counsel and former deputy CEO of NHS England discussing the role of diagnostics in the NHS recovery and how reform could revolutionise the patient experience compared to the pre-pandemic era.

Highlights from the discussion:

  • One year on from the Richards Review: covid-19 has significantly exacerbated demand for diagnostics, although demand was outstripping capacity even before the pandemic. Panellists spoke about the need to explore more imaginative routes to diagnosis and new care pathways. They all agreed that the past year had seen unprecedented levels of interest and investment in diagnostics, but there remained significant work to be done.
     
  • The impact of the workforce on diagnostics: panellists agreed that workforce was the biggest driver, or limiting factor, of elective recovery over the next few years. They discussed workforce shortages across diagnostics, noting that it was now affecting the independent sector as well.
     
  • The challenge of adoption: achieving adoption of new technologies across the NHS is a substantial challenge. Panellists spoke about the role that NICE plays in driving adoption and the importance of understanding what support systems need. The discussion highlighted the importance of demonstrating how new technologies could save the NHS money and improve efficiency.
     
  • What good should look like: panellists spoke about the need for best practice to be replicated regionally and across ICSs, and what further guidance systems may need. One suggestion was for more support on artificial intelligence, including how to identify what AI has the best clinical outcomes. It was also noted that not all needs are the same across the NHS and the focus should be on finding technologies that meet unmet needs.
     
  • Disruption to care pathways and what this means for data and the supply chain: data interoperability and resilient supply chains are crucial for disrupted care pathways to work. Panellists explored how the shift from hospital to community to patient would affect data and supply chains, as well as the need for more real-world data in order to appraise how diagnostics work in practice.
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Rare Diseases Forum 2024: Securing Europe's competitiveness in R&D for people living with rare diseases

Details:

Featuring keynotes and panel discussions with a focus on the EU's role in enhancing competitiveness in life sciences, fostering investment in the rare diseases sector, and examining the benefits of a competitive agenda for those with rare diseases. 

The event is convened by Global Counsel on behalf of the forum partners, EURORDIS, RaDiOrg, EFPIA, Eucope, EuropaBio, Pharma.be, UCB, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi & Takeda.

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