Prior Approval System

A 12 months contract required for the NHS England prior approval system whilst conducting the Discovery and Alpha phases and procurement of the next iteration of the prior approval system. The NHS England prior approval system enables clinicians to prescribe high-cost medicines to patients promptly by confirming patient eligibility via an online form detailing clinical treatment criteria. The system is also used to ensure that NHS providers are reimbursed appropriately for the use if high-cost medicines.

The Long-Term Plan describes the need to focus on quality, whilst driving efficiency and productive investment. It refers to unwarranted and unacceptable clinical variation, and the need to identify and eliminate such variation. It also refers to the need to exploit developments in information to accelerate improvements in care and improve transparency across organisations. The NHS England prior approval system supports this aim by ensuring that high-cost medicines are prescribed in accordance with NICE guidance and NHS England clinical policies.