The UK government has launched the National Healthtech Access Programme (NHAP) to improve and standardise access to innovative medical technologies across the National Health Service (NHS), expanding how diagnostics, medical devices and digital tools are assessed and made available within the health system. The initiative broadens the appraisal remit of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and forms a central component of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England.
Previously known as the Rules Based Pathway, National Healthtech Access Programme establishes a coordinated framework between NICE, the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Office for Life Sciences. Under the new structure, NICE will incorporate selected health technologies into its Technology Appraisals programme alongside medicines placing medical devices, diagnostics and digital health tools within the same national appraisal mechanism.
The move addresses longstanding concerns that cutting-edge HealthTech has not been used in the NHS or has only been available to patients in some parts of the country. By subjecting eligible technologies to formal cost-benefit analysis, NICE will determine whether they are clinically and cost-effective for nationwide adoption. Approved technologies will be reimbursed and made available consistently across the NHS.
Professor Jonathan Benger, Chief Executive of NICE, said: “When NICE was founded 26 years ago, it set out to end the postcode lottery in access to medicines. We’re now extending that same clarity and fairness to HealthTech. These reforms mean that clinically and cost-effective medical devices, diagnostics and digital tools will start to be reimbursed and made available consistently across the NHS. This will give patients faster access to proven technologies and ensure NHS resources are spent where they make the greatest difference.”
Initial technologies prioritised under NHAP
The first two technologies entering the pathway are capsule sponge tests for detecting oesophageal cancer and AI tools for identifying prostate and breast cancer. Ministers have also referred two additional oncology diagnostics for potential review: technologies to improve detection of endometrial cancer in women with unexplained vaginal bleeding, and AI-supported chest X-ray analysis for suspected lung cancer in primary care referrals.
Oesophageal cancer is often diagnosed too late, leading to poor outcomes and significant pressure on NHS diagnostic services. Early-stage disease has a 95% five-year survival rate, compared with 5–40% when diagnosed at an advanced stage. The capsule sponge test sometimes called a “pill on a string” offers a less invasive alternative to endoscopy for the early detection of oesophageal cancer and the surveillance of Barrett’s oesophagus.
The procedure involves a patient swallowing a dissolvable capsule containing a compressed sponge under the supervision of a healthcare professional, without the need for sedation. Once in the stomach, the capsule dissolves and the sponge expands. The device is then withdrawn using an attached string, collecting oesophageal cells for laboratory testing to identify abnormal or potentially cancerous cells. The method supports earlier diagnosis and helps free endoscopy capacity for urgent investigations.
Alongside this, AI pathology tools selected for review analyse images of tissue samples to support diagnosis in prostate and breast cancer two of the NHS’s largest caseload areas. The algorithms highlight suspicious regions, grade tumours and support pathologists by reducing routine workload, improving consistency and enabling faster prioritisation of high-risk cases.
Reported system-wide benefits include increasing accuracy, standardisation and reporting speed; supporting the NHS Faster Diagnosis framework and ambitions for AI adoption in cancer pathways in its Long Term Plan; reducing workforce pressures by automating routine tasks; supporting national cancer targets; reducing diagnostic bottlenecks; improving throughput; and potentially reducing inequalities in time to diagnosis linked to geography, deprivation and variation in access to specialist pathology expertise.
Policy alignment and regulatory context
NHAP sits within the broader 10 Year Health Plan for England, which aims to address the long-standing challenge that innovative HealthTech has not been used consistently across the NHS. The plan sets out a shift towards preventative care supported by earlier diagnosis and screening through the use of technology.
The programme is one of three commitments NICE will deliver under the 10 Year Plan: faster and fairer rollout of high-impact HealthTech; updating guidance to drive smarter spending; and parallel decisions to enable faster access.
The policy direction reflects wider regulatory engagement with health technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. In September 2025, the MHRA introduced an AI Commission to address regulatory uncertainty around the technology and encourage its safe and effective use in the wider healthcare sector. Internationally, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been encouraging the development of AI-enabled medical devices aligned with regulatory expectations as it looks to employ the technology within its own workflow.
By expanding NICE’s appraisal programme to incorporate selected health technologies and linking approval to national reimbursement, NHAP establishes a structured mechanism for evaluating and making available clinically and cost-effective devices, diagnostics and digital tools across the NHS.