Prioritisation of specialist health care services; not NICE, not easy but it can be done

Highly specialised medical technologies (HSTs) are revolutionising the management and treatment of patients in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In the UK HSTs are provided in relatively few hospitals with catchment populations of more than one million people and are services that are currently nationally commissioned (e.g. heart and lung transplantation). In general, these services can be relatively expensive to provide and some may be described as high cost/low volume services [1]. Conditions in this category usually affect fewer than 500 people across England and Wales, or involve services where fewer than 500 highly specialised procedures are undertaken each year [1].
Source: Health Policy - Category: Health Management Authors: Source Type: research