About us
We work to speed up the development, evaluation, and deployment of diagnostic tests that support healthcare professionals to make better decisions for their patients in areas such as antibiotic prescribing, child health and chronic illness.
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The NIHR Community Healthcare MedTech and In vitro Diagnostics Co-operative partners with commercial medical technology developers to ensure new concepts are rigorously evaluated, applicable in the NHS and have far-reaching clinical benefit.
Hosted by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, we bring together experienced health researchers, end users, and clinical experts skilled in the development and evaluation of diagnostic tests.
The focus of our activities is on key NHS priorities and include home and community care, including GP surgeries, acute ambulatory care, out-of-hours care and home visits.
The initiative builds on the work of the NIHR Oxford Diagnostic Evidence Co-operative (2013 – 2017). Over four years, we met with 54 companies to advise them on their test's potential role in primary health care, and the next steps in the evidence accumulation. We also produced 48 reports on innovative diagnostic technology relevant to primary care through our Horizon Scanning programme.
Who we are:
We are an effective, integrated group of doctors, nurses and service users at the frontline of community healthcare; researchers skilled at developing and evaluating tests; and networks with a remit to improve healthcare by promoting innovation.
Our statistical and health economics expertise help partner companies understand where both new and existing tests would be most cost-effective – be it in the home, pharmacies, the GP surgery, or at ambulatory units, so that patients in the community can receive hospital standard care.
Priorities:
Service users are central to prioritising which projects we work on and in guiding development and evaluations of new diagnostic technology for enhancing care in the community.
Our initial priorities are in the areas of community medicine where new tests have the greatest chance of improving care. Our four main clinical themes are:
- acute childhood illness,
- supporting doctors to limit unnecessary antibiotics,
- diagnosing and managing chronic disease,
- supporting new ambulatory models of care.
- These clinical pillars supported by two cross cutting themes that focus on identifying and addressing unmet clinical needs, and developing better methods for evaluating tests.