May 2026 Med Tech-related health technology assessments from the NIHR in England

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds valuable independent research for health and social care decision-makers in England. Reports from the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme are published in the NIHR HTA Journal and inform the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. 

In May 2026, two Med Tech-related assessments were published in the NIHR HTA Journal:

• Outpatient paracentesis for Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome based on the pragmatic, parallel, open-label, multicenter, superiority, adaptive, group sequential randomized controlled trial with an internal pilot. The trial was terminated early due to poor recruitment. No definitive clinical conclusions can be drawn from this study about the effectiveness of outpatient management compared to conservative management. The pandemic prompted lasting modifications in ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome prevention strategies at many fertility clinics.
• Early value assessment of the artificial intelligence software to help detect fractures on X-rays in urgent care. It was concluded that the evidence base for the technologies is currently limited to studies evaluating diagnostic accuracy, and it is unclear whether increases in fracture detection would translate into meaningful benefits for patients and services. While some fractures, if missed, can result in significant harm to patients, it is plausible that the technology would improve the diagnosis of more subtle fractures that may not require a change in management. Use of the technology would not eliminate the risk of missed fractures, so health services would need to continue taking precautions to avoid them in clinical practice. More detailed modeling in a full formal diagnostic assessment is required to consider the longer-term costs and consequences of false negatives and positives, and how they are likely to affect estimates of cost-effectiveness.

This news is just one of about 300 market access news collected by our team in the premium subscription service MTRC Access Intelligence every week from more than 80 organizations. Access our paid service to stay on top of all developments specifically for your products in Europe (reimbursement news) and globally (HTA news). Access is organized as an online Database and email alert formats. Contact us to get a free, three-month, no-obligation trial.