I’ve worked with a few Medical Devices startups in the last year on value propositions and business plans. Key to these is the NHS ‘Cost Collection’ data which records the activity and spend on medical procedures across UK health service providers.
Having investigated a range of NHS services for clients, I wondered which were the most expensive overall, and therefore the most valuable potential markets. I chose Day Cases to focus on the costs of the procedures themselves rather than hospital accommodation.
So, here’s a Pareto chart showing that 80% of Day Cases’ costs are incurred by only 15 out of over a hundred different services. Looking into the procedures these provide confirms that treatment of bowel and breast cancers, cataracts, gall bladders and prostates are among the highest costs.
Even modest improvements to the outcomes and efficiency of these procedures should reduce waiting lists and workload, while saving taxpayers’ money. They could also be compelling business opportunities – something for entrepreneurs and investors to consider carefully. I’ve met some promising ventures in Cambridge who are targeting some of these applications.
The NHS cost data also reveals how procedure costs vary across the service, which is vital for understanding the value of Medical Devices and their potential markets.