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The NHS is strengthening its commitment to innovation and efficiency through the introduction of new value-based procurement (VBP) standards for medical technology.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published the ‘Value Based Procurement Standard Guidance for Medical Technology’, designed for use within the NHS’s 13 VBP pilots. Although the guidance has been created to support these pilot projects, it also provides valuable insights and practical applications for the wider medical technology sector.
The guidance is intended for use by both NHS buyers and suppliers to help assess not only the cost of medical devices but also the broader value they deliver to patients, staff, and the healthcare system.
This shift towards value-based decision-making comes alongside the government’s announcement that the NHS will invest in pioneering technology to help reduce waiting lists and improve productivity across services. Together, these initiatives aim to ensure that procurement decisions increasingly reward technologies that demonstrate measurable improvements in outcomes, efficiency, and sustainability.
The new DHSC guidance establishes a framework for evaluating medical devices across five domains: social value, efficiency, patient and staff outcomes, supply chain resilience, and purpose. A sixth factor, whole-life cost, complements these domains by ensuring that price is considered within the broader context of lifecycle value.
Under the new framework, NHS buyers are encouraged to assess tenders not solely on upfront cost but on the overall contribution a product or service makes to the health system.
Each domain can be weighted according to the needs of a particular procurement, but social value must account for at least 10 percent of the total weighting, in line with the NHS Social Value Playbook. Overall, at least 60 percent of procurement scoring must relate to the value domains, while whole-life cost is capped at 40 percent.
This marks a step away from purely price-driven procurement and towards a model that prioritises long-term outcomes, sustainability, and patient benefit.
Each of the five value domains provides a structured set of questions and evaluation criteria for buyers and suppliers. The social value domain encourages suppliers to demonstrate how they will reduce carbon emissions, manage modern slavery risks, or improve sustainability in packaging and disposal. The efficiency domain considers how a product can simplify patient pathways, increase hospital or community productivity, and support accurate measurement of outcomes. The patient and staff domain emphasises safety, patient experience, and health equity, while supply chain and purpose focus on resilience, interoperability, and ease of use.
Suppliers are expected to provide measurable, evidence-based responses that show how their technologies can deliver tangible improvements. This includes providing baseline data, real-world evidence, and models that quantify benefits such as reduced complications, improved patient satisfaction, or optimised workforce time.
The guidance is part of a wider shift within the NHS towards integrating innovation, sustainability, and productivity.
Andrew New, CEO of NHS Supply Chain, said: “Innovative technology has a vital role to play in delivering faster, simpler and more effective care for patients. Through this new approach, we can ensure that procurement not only secures the best value for money but also supports the NHS in achieving its long-term goals around efficiency, sustainability and patient outcomes.”
BHTA member companies supplying medical technology to the NHS will need to engage more deeply with buyers to demonstrate measurable value through data, evidence, and partnership. This includes clearly articulating how their products support clinical efficiency, improve patient experience, and align with NHS sustainability objectives.
The framework also highlights the importance of collaboration between suppliers, clinical teams, and procurement professionals. Bidders are encouraged to provide evidence that supports their claims, including quantitative data, modelling, and independent validation where possible.
The guidance advises buyers to ensure proportionality in their tender requirements to support the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the medtech sector.
Suppliers may wish to focus on areas such as:
By preparing evidence-rich submissions aligned to the five value domains, suppliers can better position themselves to succeed in NHS tenders under this new approach.
The VBP guidance underscores a wider movement within the healthcare system towards smarter, more sustainable procurement. As the NHS aims to make better use of technology to enhance care delivery, these frameworks are helping to ensure that procurement decisions reflect genuine long-term value.
Andrew added: “By focusing on value rather than volume, we are creating the conditions for innovation to thrive — enabling suppliers to bring forward solutions that improve outcomes for patients and deliver efficiencies for the NHS.”