Overall summary
Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley (HIOTV) holds regular Innovation and Insight Panels (IIP) to help innovators develop their ideas and get direct feedback from key health and social care professionals. Supported by the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) Integrated Care Board (ICB), each one focuses on a specific clinical theme and provides innovators with a forum to present adoption-ready innovations with relevant system stakeholders from across our region. Innovators receive direct feedback from potential end users, commissioners and procurement leads on their value proposition and potential fit with local system needs. HIOTV then facilitates introductions and follow-up activity based on expressed interest, which could include real world evaluations, pilots or local adoption of the innovation. The initial panels in 2023/24 explored managing respiratory diseases, reducing opioid use and digital tools to guide healthcare. Innovators received valuable direct feedback and potential expressions of interest from NHS stakeholders and help to better understand the region’s innovation needs. Future panel focus areas will include maternity, mental health and severe mental illness, cancer, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
What is the challenge?
Securing the adoption of innovative technologies in the NHS is challenging due in part to a lack of awareness among healthcare providers and commissioners about available innovations and their potential benefits. Even when promising innovations are identified, the NHS often struggles with the capacity to implement necessary changes. HIOTV aims to enhance collaboration, foster innovation and address critical needs within the NHS and social care sectors. The IIP process aims to bridge this gap between innovators and the NHS by helping local healthcare providers find new technologies that address unmet needs as well as supporting the evaluation and adoption of the most promising solutions. The process also provides innovators with valuable direct feedback on their products and services which they can find difficult to achieve on their own.
What did we do?
HIOTV worked with BOB ICB to identify key themes where there are clear unmet needs, then identified and assembled a body of innovators with suitable technologies with the potential to address those needs. HIOTV delivered three clinically focussed workshops to connect innovators with key stakeholders within the NHS. These workshops covered respiratory care, opioid safety and the respiratory workforce. They provided regional NHS stakeholders with a comprehensive overview of innovations at the “develop and deploy” stages of the innovation pipeline, focusing on market-ready solutions with the necessary regulatory approvals. Innovators received valuable feedback from healthcare professionals, procurement experts, and system managers, which helped them to refine their projects and align them with the needs of the NHS. Additionally, these sessions enabled HIOTV to broker targeted partnerships between innovators and relevant healthcare stakeholders, ensuring that the most promising innovations are identified and supported and further collaborations developed.
What has been achieved?
All innovators taking part in the IIP received constructive feedback from stakeholders during the panel and in a detailed report derived from informal scoring by panelists. This allowed both the innovators and panelists to review how the presentation and projects were received by other members on the panel. The detailed feedback enabled further product development to fit system needs, outlined how the system works for increased engagement and also helped innovators to better define their unique selling point.
One real world service evaluation has been taken forward, undergoing protocol finalisation and procurement sign-off. Another evaluation is in the initial discussion stages to determine health economic viability, with the potential of an economic analysis being carried out at a pilot site. Further research opportunities in primary care and in the wider health service have been identified with our academic partners and joint working on future bids for grant funded work has been agreed.
The panels demonstrate NHS provider and commissioner partner priorities in their consideration of potential innovations in existing and new pathways of care. This enables HIOTV to better align its work to the needs of the local health system.
What people said
“The Innovation and Insight Panels allow us the flexibility to review a large number of possible solutions for healthcare challenges in our local system. By bringing the users and purchasers of the potential solutions together with those creating the innovative products and services, we facilitate better understanding for all the participants on the key drivers and determinants of change and improved outcomes.”
Matthew Lawrence, Head of Industry and Innovation, HIOTV
“I found the IIP very useful in the sense that it connects you directly with several decision- makers within the ICB, who are more difficult to reach for us as a start-up company. We were well supported in terms of content and practical organisation. The feedback and follow-up were well supported.”
Elena Smets, Product Manager, ArtiQ
What next?
HIOTV will continue to work with BOB ICB and other health systems to identify and convene future IIPs, and to provide appropriate support to innovators that have been involved in the IIP process. Future panel focus areas will include maternity, mental health and severe mental illness, cancer, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Contact
Matthew Lawrence, Head of Industry and Innovation matthew.lawrence@healthinnovationoxford.org