The Plan for Growth, published by the Government in March, contained a range of measures, including a firm commitment to build on the “Innovative Technology Adoption and Procurement Programme (iTAPP)” in the NHS, giving the companies involved the opportunity to present their ideas and innovations to the NHS.
iTAPP identifies firm opportunities for technologies to help the NHS make savings and improve outcomes for patients, through better use of medical technologies. The programme initially assessed 150 technologies and estimated the potential savings to be around £1.5 billion. Commenting on the content of The Plan for Growth, The Association of British Healthcare Industries chief executive, Peter Ellingworth, said: “I am delighted that the Government recognised the iTAPP programme in its Plan for Growth. The innovations offered by the medical device industry can enable the NHS to deliver healthcare more efficiently and help them achieve the targets set out in QIPP. Industry wants to support the NHS to achieve their goals and we need a formal process to support the uptake of technology if we are to succeed iTAPP has benefits for industry, patients and the NHS and we welcome the Government’s continued commitment to it”
