NICE issues first guidance under early value assessment on digital mental health technologies for children and young people

10 Feb 2023

Written by Joanne Walker

Decision science Health technology assessment Medical devices, pharmaceuticals and vaccines Neurology and psychiatry News Value assessment

The first rapid health technology guidance recommends four self-help digital technologies for cognitive behavioural therapy to be used by children and young people with mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety or low mood.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has evaluated the initial data on these technologies to decide if they are suitable for early implementation in the NHS while more evidence is accumulated. The independent NICE committee has agreed these cognitive behavioural therapy technologies can be used by healthcare professionals as early-access treatment options for children and young people aged 5 to 18 years. Once they receive regulatory approval by the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) from NHS England, the technologies will be available for full use. The four technologies recommended by NICE provide digital CBT through a mix of games, videos and quizzes and include:

Lumi Nova (BfB Labs)
Online Social anxiety Cognitive therapy for Adolescents (OSCA)
Online Support and Intervention for child anxiety (OSI)
Space from anxiety for teens, space from low mood for teens, space from low mood and anxiety for teens (Silvercloud).

This is the first guidance issued under NICE’s early value assessment (EVA) pilot project, in which evidence-based guidance is developed much quicker to provide swifter access to promising health technologies that address national unmet need. EVA is being used by NICE for the rapid assessment of the most promising and impactful medical technologies where there is greatest need, beginning with digital products. The first pilots of EVA, of which this is one, focus on digital technologies for mental heath in children and others are due to be announced in adult mental health, early cancer diagnosis, cardiovascular disease and other areas of high unmet need. NICE has already issued draft guidance on some of these pilot projects, including the conditionally recommendation of a diagnostic test to prevent deafness in newborn babies and smartphone-linked ECG device that measures cardiac QT interval in people having antipsychotic medication.

“This guidance shows how NICE is focussing on what matters most by getting the best care to patients fast.” said Mark Chapman, interim director of medical technology and digital evaluation at NICE, about this first published guidance, “Patient experts told our committee that mental health services are in high demand, access varies widely across the country, and there is an unmet need when it comes to receiving treatment while on waiting lists to see specialists. These four technologies offer low risk options to children and young people who need to begin treatment as soon as possible.