Access to innovative healthcare and payment models

Improving access to and uptake of innovations and nurturing innovative healthcare systems

Innovative treatments and solutions can only deliver benefits when patients have access to them. RAND Europe works to provide practical and actionable recommendations for improving the access and uptake of beneficial innovations, and for nurturing healthcare systems where this can happen in a safe and scalable way.

Enabling the adoption of healthcare innovations

The UK's NHS is under pressure to meet the growing and changing demand for healthcare services with limited resources. Innovation provides opportunities to respond creatively and effectively to growing demands on healthcare systems. We helped policymakers to identify actions that can help build more receptive innovation environments in the NHS.

  • A doctor with lightbulb in hand, symbolizing an innovative idea, photo by natali_mis/Adobe Stock

    Project

    Innovation for improved NHS healthcare

    We engaged with nearly 700 individuals and reviewed the international literature to identify key actions to improve the conditions for developing and accessing innovations in the NHS. These actions seek to ensure requisite skills and capabilities for innovation, support appropriate incentives and accountabilities, create the needed information and evidence flows, nurture coordinated relationships and networks, enhance funding and commissioning landscapes, and support effective patient and public involvement. This work informed innovation-related decisionmaking in the Department of Health and Social Care (England), the Office for Life Sciences and NHS England.

Exploring innovative payment models

Those who pay for new medicines, diagnostics and vaccines are increasingly interested in paying for an outcome in the real world. Our recent work has tackled this important issue and considered when outcome-based payments may be appropriate to use and what is needed to make them a reality in the NHS.

  • Chemotherapy medication

    Project

    Making outcome-based payment a reality in the NHS

    Commissioned by Cancer Research UK, we examined the feasibility of using outcome-based payment models as an innovative approach to paying for cancer medicines in England’s National Health Service. We identified the types of outcomes that patients value and found that outcome-based payment schemes are most desirable when there is uncertainty about outcomes even after clinical trials.

  • Close up hand of patient paying with smartphone, photo by Ridofranz/Getty Images

    Commentary

    Fintech's Role in Reducing Disparities and Financial Barriers to Health Care Access

    Given the growing pressures on health care systems globally and the need for innovative approaches to financing health care, the time may be ripe to develop a robust evidence base and share learning on fintech-enabled approaches that could support universal health coverage agendas and healthier and more stable societies.

Understanding fee systems for medicine assessment and pharmacovigilance

Ensuring that medicines are safe and effective requires them to go through robust assessment processes prior to their approval. It also requires that medicines are monitored for their safety after they have been licensed for use — this is the practice of pharmacovigilance. RAND Europe has helped policymakers understand the effectiveness and efficiency of the fee system that is used for medicine assessment and pharmacovigilance in Europe.

  • Medicine Bottles Behind Pills Spilling From Fallen Bottle

    Project

    Evaluating the European Medicines Agency fee system

    The EMA has a fee system to ensure a sound financial basis for its assessments of medicines and other pharmacovigilance activities at the EU level. Funded by the European Commission, we evaluated EMA’s fee system and identified what worked well and what could be improved. Some areas for improvement relate to tackling challenges associated with its complexity and achieving appropriate degrees of flexibility.

Understanding the financial landscape that supports life sciences research and development

Governments recognise the importance of the life sciences industry for addressing major population health needs as well as for bringing economic growth and employment opportunities. RAND Europe is working with partners to better understand the financing of pharmaceutical research and development, all of which has implications for policymaking to support life sciences innovation and for ensuring affordable and equitable access to new medicines.

  • Spreadsheets and medicine, photo by sharaku1216/Adobe Stock

    Project

    The financial ecosystem underpinning the development of medicines

    In an ongoing study commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, RAND Europe is collaborating with SiRM and LEK Consulting to enrich the evidence base on how medicines R&D is financed and how this may evolve in the future. This is important to enable governments to make more informed policy decisions that optimise value for their citizens, while at the same time appropriately reimbursing innovators.

Accelerating access to innovation

Timely access to healthcare innovation is key for achieving desired patient outcomes, saving lives and supporting effective healthcare systems. Our work has examined international efforts to support more rapid access to innovation, with a goal of understanding what works and identifying the strengths and limitations of different policy incentives.

Get in touch

Let’s start a conversation about how we can work together to find solutions that can positively impact people’s health.

Use this form or send an email to healthcareinnovation@randeurope.org