Adding Value: The Economic and Societal Benefits of Medical Technology
- FACT: In 2009 approximately 11,000 people in England and Wales were enabled to return to work by a hip replacement surgery, saving the UK welfare system £37.4 million per year for the remainder of their working lives.
- FACT: Return to work following implantation of an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) reduces the burden to the UK welfare system by £4.6million each year. If the number of people with ICDs was to match the European rate, the savings would increase to £6.8 million a year.
- FACT: If the number of insulin pump users was brought up by 7 per cent to reach the 12 per cent benchmark set by NICE, additional savings just on consultant’ visits and hospital admissions would add up to between £37.2 million and £62.5 million per year.
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The Medical Technology Group is the UK’s leading coalition of patient groups, research charities and medical device manufacturers working to improve access to cost effective medical technologies to everyone who needs then. To further understanding of the benefits that medical technologies can bring the MTG commissioned the Work Foundation to produce a report examining the societal and economic benefits of medical devices.
The Report, Adding Value: The Economic and Societal Benefits of Medical Technology, is published today and the MTG warmly welcome it.
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Barbara Harpham, Chair of the MTG and Director of Heart Research UK, said:
"Medical technology gives value for money to the NHS, patients, and taxpayers, but the uptake of technology in the UK is not as good as it should be. We welcome this report as it highlights medical technologies do not just bring improvements in health care, improved quality of life and independent living for the patient, but importantly labour market participation and productivity; medical technologies don’t just benefit patients but their families, their employers, and the public purse.”
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The publication of this report is timely; in the new NHS there is now a focus on outcomes and helping to get people with long term conditions into work. With the DWP Work Programme and the roll out of the Fit Note supporting and helping people to secure and stay in work is a key government priority.
The report looks in detail at three medical technologies (artificial hip/knee replacements, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and insulin pumps), which have been found to be cost-effective from an clinical and NHS perspective for specific groups of patients, and highlights that there are even greater benefits which can come from the use of these technologies for a wider range of stakeholders – not just individuals, but families, employers, the NHS and wider society:
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The Report concludes that:
“A focus on short-term priorities coupled with a lack of policy coordination and the related failure to recognise the variety of benefits offered by medical interventions often hamper their wider utilisation. Commissioners and specialists involved in the decision-making process need to address cultural conservatism in the uptake of valuable medical technologies”.
Stephen Bevan, Director of the Work Foundation, and the report co-author said, “We know that, as the UK workforce ages and have to work longer, more people will have long-term health conditions which may affect their quality of life and their productivity. This research shows very clearly that early interventions using an array of medical devices can play a major and cost-effective part in helping people to both stay in and return to work”
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The MTG strongly endorses the conclusion that in a time of unprecedented pressure on the NHS to make costs savings, the wider and longer-term benefits of medical technology should not be pushed aside. As the report makes clear, “not having the intervention is often ‘more of a cost’ to patients, the health care system and the society’.
The Report makes a number of recommendations to the Department of Health and key stakeholders to improve the adoption of medical technology including that NICE should be able to comment on the wider societal benefits of medical technologies when carrying out technology appraisals, and that NICE Quality Standards should highlight the appropriate use of medical devices. The MTG supports all the recommendations and joins the Work Foundation in their call to action.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- Adding Value: The Economic and Societal Benefits of Medical Technology by Stephen Bevan and Ksenia Zheltoukhova is available in advance by contacting Fiona McEvoy on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. "> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 0207 067 0424
- Stephen Bevan and Ksenia Zheltoukhova are available for interviews, briefings and written commentary. Interviews may be arranged with patient case studies on request.
- The report was made possible by a grant from the Medical Technology Group
- The MTG is a coalition of patient groups, research charities and medical device manufacturers working to improve access to cost effective medical technologies for everyone who needs them. Further information is available at www.mtg.org.uk. -Weber Shandwick Public Affairs provides secretariat support to the Medical Technology Group.
- The Work Foundation is the leading independent authority on work and its future. It aims to improve the quality of working life and the effectiveness of organisations by equipping leaders, policymakers and opinion-formers with evidence, advice, new thinking and networks. In October 2010, Lancaster University acquired The Work Foundation, forming a new alliance that will enable both organisations to further enhance their impact.
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