Evidence standards framework (ESF) for digital health technologies

Overview

What is the evidence standards framework? The ESF is a set of evidence standards for a wide range of DHTs. Evaluators and decision makers in the health and care system can consistently use to help them identify DHTs that are likely to offer benefits to users and to the health and care system. Who is the ESF for? The ESF is for people in the health and care system who are responsible for:

• identifying and evaluating new DHTs
• conducting formal product reviews
• authorising DHT product coverage, funding, or reimbursement
• conducting ongoing clinical and economic product evaluations in real-world settings

We refer to these people as evaluators in the ESF. The ESF is also for companies that develop or distribute DHT for use in the health and care system. We refer to these as companies in the ESF. What does the standard help me to do?

For companies that develop or distribute, and for evaluators and decision makers in the health and care system, the ESF:

• provides a classification system that helps to assign specific technologies to one of the tiers of standards within the framework
• provides a set of standards that can be consistently used by developers
• makes it easier to understand what good levels of evidence for digital health technologies look like

For companies that develop or distribute DHTs, the ESF also helps to understand how to demonstrate the effectiveness and value of a DHT when engaging with evaluators and decision makers in the health and care system. For evaluators and decision makers in the health and care system the ESF also helps to make more informed and consistent decisions when evaluating, commissioning or purchasing DHTs.

External Links