lmproving patient and carer engagement in policymaking and assessment of medical technologies for intimate healthcare (December 2023)

Summary

Coloplast UK is a manufacturer of ostomy, continence, urology and wound care products. They commissioned the Patients Association to conduct a project to explore and recommend ways to better engage patients and carers in policymaking and the assessment of medical technologies for intimate healthcare. The Patients Association held a roundtable meeting and case study interviews with patients with intimate healthcare conditions and other stakeholders. They also conducted a survey of third-sector organisations who represent those patients and carried out desk-based research.

This report summarises the findings of the project, which include that the existing mechanisms of engagement typically adopt a “patient involvement” approach where patients and carers do not have equal status as partners in the decision-making process. The report makes a number of recommendations to improve the way in which patients and their carers are engaged.

Content

Recommendations

1. Improve the engagement process.
2. Improve the recruitment process.
3. Build the evidence-base to identify what matters to patients when assessing devices, effective patient engagement strategies and how patient and carer input influences decision-making.
4. Enhance the integration of metrics that are important to patients into the assessment process.
5. Support a care continuum that connects access to quality medical devices and products to high-quality clinical pathways and services.