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Small usability tests and simpler forms are two of the cheapest ways to improve a new website, app or digital product before launch. Here is how to do both.
Going to market in the NHS: what suppliers need to get right
Many good products struggle in the NHS, not because they are wrong, but because the route to market is misunderstood. Here is how I would approach it.
Health and care is not like other markets
If you sell to most businesses, there is usually one buyer and one budget. In health and care, a single decision can involve clinicians, managers, finance, procurement, information governance, councils, care providers and families. Each of them needs something different from you, and any one of them can slow things down.
In my eight years in senior roles at home care and live in care companies, working with NHS trusts, GPs and councils, the suppliers who did well were rarely the loudest. They were the ones who understood how decisions were really made, and made each step easy.
Start by mapping the system
Before you write a sales deck, answer three questions.
- Who has the problem? Patients, carers, ward teams, discharge teams, community services, care providers or councils.
- Who decides? The person who feels the problem is often not the person who signs off the spend.
- Who pays, and from which budget? NHS, council, care provider, or the person and their family. The answer changes your price, your proof and your route.
Then follow the money and the referrals. Where does your product fit in the pathway, who hands over to whom, and what does a buyer have to change to use it?
Know the rules that shape buying
Public buying in England is governed by law, and it has changed recently.
- The Procurement Act 2023 has been in force since 24 February 2025. [S25] The Cabinet Office said it gives small businesses greater access to "nearly £400billion of yearly spend", and that suppliers can register their details and see bidding opportunities in one place on a new Central Digital Platform. [S24]
- The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 came into force on 1 January 2024. [S26] They apply to how relevant bodies in England arrange certain health care services, so check which regime applies before assuming a standard tender.
You do not need to be a procurement lawyer. But you do need to know which rules your buyer is working under, because it shapes timing, paperwork and how you can engage before a formal process.
Be ready for assurance
For digital products, NHS England's Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) is the framework commissioners and providers use to assure digital health technology. [S27] NHS England introduced an updated DTAC form on 24 February 2026, with a 25% reduction in questions, and says the previous form should not be used from 6 April 2026. [S28]
Buyers are told to request a completed DTAC form, and manufacturers are expected to keep one up to date for each product version. [S27] If your product could be a medical device, you will also need to understand the MHRA's rules on intended purpose. [S29] Having this ready before the first serious conversation saves months.
Get the evidence and the message right
Health and care buyers are rightly cautious. They will ask what your product does, for whom, with what evidence, and what it means for their staff. Good messaging in this market is:
- Specific. Which problem, which pathway, which people.
- Honest. Claims you can evidence, with sources a buyer can check. Never borrow NHS identity or imply NHS endorsement you do not have.
- Different for each audience. Clinicians, finance teams, councils and families each care about different things. One message rarely works for all of them.
- Practical. What a buyer has to do to get started, how long it takes and who supports them.
Plan for a long journey
Selling into the NHS and councils usually takes longer than founders hope. Plan for it: budget for the sales cycle, start with a manageable first step such as one pathway or one team, and build relationships before tenders are published.
How we can help
We help suppliers, care providers and innovators map the system, shape their proposition and messaging, plan their route in, and prepare the materials and evidence buyers expect. We do not give legal, clinical or procurement advice, and we will tell you when you need a specialist.
Take a look at our Go to market strategy and NHS and social care specialists services, or book a discovery call.
Sources
- Cabinet Office, New public procurement rules to drive growth, opportunities for small businesses and exclude suppliers that fail to deliver, published 25 February 2025. [S24]
- Procurement Act 2023, legislation.gov.uk (provisions valid from 24 February 2025). [S25]
- The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023, regulation 1. [S26]
- NHS England Digital, How Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) works, last edited 21 September 2026. [S27]
- NHS Innovation Service, Updated NHS England Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) form and guidance, published 4 March 2026. [S28]
- MHRA, Software and artificial intelligence (AI) as a medical device, updated 3 February 2025. [S29]
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