Evidence Standard Framework (ESF)

The NICE Evidence Standards Framework (ESF) describes the standards that digital health technology (DHT) evidence should meet, in order to demonstrate its value in the UK health and social care system. The ESF encompasses evidence of the technology’s performance and evidence of economic impact relative to the financial risk. It can be used by evaluators and innovation teams in the NHS and care system when they are evaluating a DHT for commissioning or purchasing; however, the use of the ESF in this context is not mandated. The ESF can also be used by DHT companies to understand how the UK health and care system evaluates DHTs and what kinds of evidence should be shown to facilitate commissioning or purchasing decisions.