The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Medtech Innovation Briefings (MIBs) are commissioned by the National Health Service (NHS) England and designed to support NHS and social care commissioners and staff who are considering using new medical devices and other medical, digital or diagnostic technologies. MIBs are fast flexible summaries of single technologies that are intended to be responsive to commissioners needs for information about innovative technologies. MIBs include a description of the technology, how it is used and its potential role in the treatment pathway. They also include a review of relevant published evidence and likely costs. As a relatively new product, the format of MIBs continues to evolve and in 2016 a more streamlined evaluation template was introduced. To ensure MIBs continue to meet users’ needs, a study was conducted to understand the opinions and requirements of core stakeholders and to identify key areas for future development.

An initial cross-sectional online survey with NHS staff who were potential users of MIBs was carried out in December 2015. A second round of online and mail-out surveys were circulated between November 2016 and May 2017 to medical technology manufactures and an additional group of NHS staff. Descriptive analysis was used for all quantitative data and qualitative data was summarized using thematic analysis.

Thirty-nine medical professionals and fourty-two manufacturer representatives participated in the surveys. More than half of clinicians were aware of MIBs and thought that raising awareness and visibility should be a future priority. Manufactures regarded MIBs as having a positive or mixed impact on innovation, access, or uptake by the healthcare system.

Stakeholders are using MIBs in a variety of ways and there was and a range of suggestions for their future development particularly regarding moving from single technology evaluation to simultaneous assessment of similar technologies.