New rapid diagnostic and assessment centres are being piloted in ten areas across England in a focused approach to identify cancer early. These new centres are part of the NHS plan to meet the new faster diagnosis standard, where patients with suspected cancer should receive a diagnosis or given the all clear within 28-days.
The pilots are part of the Accelerate, Co-ordinate and Evaluate (ACE 2) Early Diagnosis Programme, a joint initiative by NHS England, Cancer Research UK and Macmillan. Companies should be aware of these new stakeholder groups which open the opportunity for recently developed innovative diagnostic testing which has increased accuracy and can be carried out cost efficiently in larger sample sizes in these new specialist centres for cancer.
The way they will operate is if a GP or other healthcare professional suspects cancer they will now be able to refer to a one stop shop where all the necessary investigations can be done under one roof. This will make it much easier for patients instead of having several appointments at different venues and in addition it will expedite the whole stressful process.
Some patients will be able to receive a definitive diagnosis or an all clear on the same day, for others it will mean needing to undergo further assessment. However, even these patients should expect a diagnosis within two weeks of their first appointment.
Further multidisciplinary assessment centres are setting up across England with plans to deliver rapid diagnostic and assessment pathways, through access to NHS England transformation funding, local cancer alliances are setting up more multidisciplinary diagnostic centres across the country.
Partners4Access specialize in advising clients on market access of orphan and cell and gene therapies and diagnostics.
Further details on the announcement can be found at, https://www.england.nhs.uk/2018/04/new-one-stop-shops-for-cancer-to-speed-up-diagnosis-and-save-lives/ however, If you require further advice with your market access strategy please get in touch at [email protected]
Author: Alison Kneen
Email Alison at [email protected]
