Health is a driver of economic success

Medical science improves lives, strengthens the NHS, protects the public from health threats and drives economic growth. Yet when decisions are made about where to invest limited public resources, the full value of health interventions is not always visible.

The UK Government has recognised this by developing an NHS 10-Year Plan for England - with ambitions to shift from sickness to prevention - and identifying life sciences as a strategic sector. But achieving these ambitions requires more than investment alone. It requires a decision-making framework that can consistently recognise how different health interventions contribute to the UK's health, resilience and prosperity. For example, while the planned shift to prevention is encouraging, current processes have, so far, made this challenging to deliver in practice.

Whether funding prevention programmes, new medicines, diagnostic technologies or public health initiatives, policymakers must make difficult choices about where resources will have the greatest impact. Yet there is currently no single framework for assessing the full value of these interventions across different policy objectives.

As a result, opportunities to improve health, strengthen the economy and deliver better long-term value may be missed.

Health interventions create value in multiple ways

Discussions with our community suggest that health interventions generate value across at least four domains:

The cost of failing to act

The UK faces significant risks if it does not strengthen the way health interventions are valued.

1. Public resources may not be directed towards interventions that deliver the greatest overall benefit to society. Investments that generate substantial long-term gains could be overlooked in favour of those with more visible short-term returns.
2. The UK risks undermining its own ambitions for economic growth. Poor health costs the economy through reduced productivity, workforce inactivity and pressure on public services. If these wider impacts are not fully recognised, decisions may fail to unlock the economic benefits that flow from better health.
3. Opportunities to realise the full potential of the UK's life sciences sector could be missed. Research and innovation can generate health benefits, economic growth and public value simultaneously, but only if decision-making frameworks are able to recognise those multiple forms of impact.

The consequence is not simply less effective spending. It is a risk to the UK's ambitions for a healthier, more resilient and more productive population.

Turning ambition into action

The Academy of Medical Sciences has established a policy programme to help address this challenge.

The programme will:

• Develop a coherent framework that supports more consistent, robust and transparent decision-making across different types of health intervention and policy objective. 
• Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence base needed to support that framework. 
• Identify where evidence is strong, where uncertainty remains and where further research may be needed. 
• Explore how health, economic and societal value can be considered together when making decisions about investment. 

An improved framework will not eliminate difficult choices. But it can help ensure that they are informed by the best available evidence, aligned with government priorities and transparent about the trade-offs involved.

Help shape the future of health decision-making

This work will only succeed if it reflects the expertise and experience of those working across research, healthcare, policy, industry and the wider public sector.

We want to hear from individuals and organisations who can help strengthen the evidence base, challenge assumptions and contribute new perspectives. Together, we can help ensure that decisions about health interventions reflect their full contribution to the nation's health, resilience and prosperity.

To find out more or get involved, contact [email protected].