Changing the innovation landscape in the UK’s National Health Service to meet its future challenges
File(s)
Author(s)
Barlow, JG
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The UK’s National Health Service is widely held to be lagging behind the health
systems of other countries in its innovativeness. In particular, there is said to be a “technology
deficit” in certain clinical areas, such that patients are unable to access the latest drugs or medical
devices. Moreover, the UK conducts world-leading research in health-related sciences and
has a globally competitive pharmaceutical industry and sizeable medical technology sector, yet
there have been persistent concerns about the translation of this research into products that can
be commercialized. The last 15 years have seen successive attempts to rectify this situation and
improve the flow of health care innovations into practice. In addition, the importance of organizational
innovation to improve productivity and clinical, quality, and safety performance has
been recognized. This is becoming more urgent given the need to meet the challenges of rising
demand for health care at a time of increasingly constrained resources. This review discusses
the changing landscape of policy and other interventions that have been put in place to tackle
the factors that inhibit health care-related innovation in the UK.
systems of other countries in its innovativeness. In particular, there is said to be a “technology
deficit” in certain clinical areas, such that patients are unable to access the latest drugs or medical
devices. Moreover, the UK conducts world-leading research in health-related sciences and
has a globally competitive pharmaceutical industry and sizeable medical technology sector, yet
there have been persistent concerns about the translation of this research into products that can
be commercialized. The last 15 years have seen successive attempts to rectify this situation and
improve the flow of health care innovations into practice. In addition, the importance of organizational
innovation to improve productivity and clinical, quality, and safety performance has
been recognized. This is becoming more urgent given the need to meet the challenges of rising
demand for health care at a time of increasingly constrained resources. This review discusses
the changing landscape of policy and other interventions that have been put in place to tackle
the factors that inhibit health care-related innovation in the UK.
Date Issued
2015-09-10
Date Acceptance
2015-09-10
Citation
Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Health, 2015, 2015 (2), pp.59-67
ISSN
2324-5905
Publisher
Dove Press
Start Page
59
End Page
67
Journal / Book Title
Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Health
Volume
2015
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2015 Barlow. This work is published by Dove Medical Press Limited, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0)
License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further
permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. Permissions beyond the scope of the License are administered by Dove Medical Press Limited. Information on
how to request permission may be found at: http://www.dovepress.com/permissions.php
License. The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further
permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. Permissions beyond the scope of the License are administered by Dove Medical Press Limited. Information on
how to request permission may be found at: http://www.dovepress.com/permissions.php
License URL
Subjects
health care
policy
medical technology
pharmaceuticals
research translation
Publication Status
Published